Sometimes It's Better to Take What's Given to You
by Overrated Joe
Summary: Six years after Frisk's journey in the Underground, the monsters finally break free from the barrier. And they are starting a second war against humanity.
1. Prologue: Phone Call

**Part I: Falling Apart**

* * *

He was back to the Underground. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, he just... _was_. Like it was fate – it was meant to be.

" _heya... is anyone there..?_ "

He didn't want to – the Underground was full of painful memories he'd rather to remain buried deep into his past. And yet, he always knew that day would come – the day he'd have to face his mistakes.

" _since you left, things down here have been different..."_

He was in the Ruins... the very first section of the Underground. Those purple walls were too characteristical for him to mistake it, but the place had changed. In the past, it was well-lit with torches and kept tidy, but now... now it really seemed like real ruins, and that gave him an uncomfortable feeling on the pit of his stomach.

Something wasn't right.

" _with asgore gone, undyne became the ruler of the underground."_

He gave a step forward, and it felt... strange. Floaty. Like his body didn't exist. His vision also had some sort of impairment – all hazy and distorted, but he carried on. He needed to reach the exit; he had to get out of that place.

" _HEY! UNDYNE'S THE EMPRESS NOW! IT'S AMAZING!"_

He wasn't welcome in there; being back to the Underground only meant danger. He tried to remember, once again, how did he get there, but couldn't. The pieces just weren't fitting.

" _and since the human souls disappeared, undyne's also looking for a new way to break the barrier."_

Finally, he reached a different place – a round chamber of sorts with a bed of golden flowers in the middle, bathed by the sunlight that entered from cracks in the mountain.

" _and when she does, she is going to wage war on humanity..."_

There was someone in the middle of the bed of flowers, crouched down, probably arranging them. His heart leaped when he saw them – it had been so long since he had last seen them, and he felt pain, and guilt, and a lot of other things he couldn't exactly translate into words.

They seemed to notice he was approaching, because they stood up and turned around.

" _s_ _he says the first thing she is gonna do after we get out of here... is take her army... and personally hunt you down and destroy you."_

...

...

...

...

...

...


	2. Rabbit Hole

There was a feeling of uneasiness in the air when Frisk woke up that morning.

Maybe it was related to the dream he just had, although he couldn't recall exactly what it was. Something to do with talking to the phone, but it was more than that – like remembering a memory he had long forgotten.

And then it hit him. Oh, right – _that_.

He rolled to the side of his bed and looked under it, picking up a box he kept there. Scratching his eyes and yawning, he lazily sat on the bed with the box on his lap, being careful not to wake the others in the room. It would soon be time to wake up and get going anyway, so there was no point in trying to get back to sleep.

It was inside that box where he kept his belongings. Not that there were many of them: a broken yo-yo, a cheap action figure of a superhero, a lighter, a razor and, what he was looking for, a cellphone.

It certainly didn't look like any other cellphone he had ever seen – a fairly old model fixed to have modern functions like touch screen and camera. It ended up looking like a mess in the process: old and new didn't mix up well aesthetically – Frisk compared it to an adult trying to look like a teenager.

Almost unconsciously, he tried to turn it on – to no avail. The dark screen didn't lit up, and he just kept staring at his own reflection on it. His tired expression stared back, far too serious for a teenager, even after waking up. Frustrated, he sighed before putting the phone away in the box.

Every time he remembered that day, he would find himself trying to power that weird phone on. He had even managed to sneak in several rechargers – always taking care not to be spotted, as cellphones were prohibited, and the other kids would totally freak out if they saw one –, but it never worked when he tried to recharge it. He figured, a long time ago, it must had broken.

He always remembered the last time it was working, though. One day, he snuck out from the place, and wandered around Mt. Ebott, that legendary mountain which was said to be cursed: those who went there never returned. His curiosity, allied with clumsiness, made him trip and fall on a hole in one of its caverns.

There, he found the Underground, a place where all sorts of monsters were trapped. So the legends of old were true, after all.

Saying it like that, it sounds like a scary place, but Frisk knew that couldn't be farther from the truth. Almost all monsters he met were really nice and kind. Still... his memories of his journey down there weren't totally happy. He always felt it. The guilt. The remorse.

He had made terrible mistakes.

He managed to escape the Underground, and some weeks after that, he received a call from a couple of monsters he had befriended. They didn't tell him good news – if anything, the place had a dark future ahead. And, just after that, the phone shut down to never turn on again.

Needless to say, Frisk was never the same after that strange experience. He didn't know what to believe anymore. He didn't know if his journey in the Underground had been real, or if he had just imagined it. As time passed, he settled that it must have been something from his head, that he had just imagined it – but even then, he would keep checking the phone to see if it turned on to give more reliable proof of what happened that day.

And, just like that, six years had gone by. Six years had passed since that fateful day.

* * *

"Mr. Frisk, if you would come to my office please."

Frisk looked up from the book he was reading – _Alice in Wonderland_ , by Lewis Carroll. He read that book countless times, but it never bored him – it was, by far, his favorite book, and he always kept coming back to re-read it one more time.

Mrs. Magda was looking at him, and made a movement with her head in a sign for him to stand up. She was a middle-aged woman, her hair tied in a bun, big glasses, and wore a plain beige dress. He stood up and followed her.

It was a beautiful day – flowers were blooming, birds were singing. The younger kids were outside, playing. Passing by them, Frisk couldn't help but feel a bit of jealously – he had never made any friends in this place. All the kids out there were orphans, like he was, but they had each other to play, talk, and just... be happy. Not Frisk, though – nobody had ever approached him, and he attributed that fact to his somewhat antissocial behavior. At this point, he was more than used to it, but still...

Before he could dwell on that matter much longer, they were already inside Mrs. Magda's office – a small, but neatly tidy room. Drawers containing hundreds of files were against the walls, and a desk with two chairs were in the middle. She sat in the chair behind her desk and made a sign for Frisk to sit on the other. He obeyed, not before noticing there was on open file on the top of the desk, next to an obnoxiously old computer. _His_ file.

"Well, Mr. Frisk, first of all: I'd like to clear out an issue with you.", began Mrs. Magda. "Some children reported seeing you sneaking cigarettes to the orphanage."

"What!?", said Frisk, genuinely surprised. "Who said that?"

"I'm afraid I cannot share this information with you."

"Oh, come on!", he replied, frustrated. "I did it once, almost a year ago. I wouldn't do it again."

Mrs. Magda just kept staring at Frisk, trying to find something he knew she wouldn't find. He _was_ telling the one and only truth, for once.

"Besides," he continued, "I quit for good. Honest."

"In the lack of any evidence, I suppose I will have to give you the benefit of doubt. But if I discover you are lying, things _will_ get bad for you." Mrs. Magda adjusted her bun, and looked to his file. "This house won't tolerate the use of drugs, Mr. Frisk."

Frisk bit his tongue – if there was something he couldn't stand in that world, it was being wrongly accused of doing something. However, he didn't say anything, because there was nothing to gain from annoying Mrs. Magda, the diretor of the town's orphanage.

"Is that it? Just some baseless accusation? Can I go now?" Frisk made motion to stand up, but Mrs. Magda showed her palm in a sign for him to stop.

"Just wait a moment. There is another matter I wish to discuss with you." She leaned against her chair. "As you must be aware, Mr. Frisk, you are 16 now, turning 17 later this year. This means the next year you turn 18. Which is the day you will have to leave the orphanage."

Frisk avoided eye contact when he replied.

"Really? That's a shame."

"You might not be fond of this house, but I assure you.", she sat upright, holding her hands together, resting them in the desk in front of her. "The world out there is much, _much_ more unforgiving. Specially if you don't prepare. So, I suggest you go get a job to earn some money, so by the time you leave, you can be a bit prepared."

Frisk met her gaze. Her expression was... neutral, like she was saying that because she had to. It was the protocol, after all.

"How am I supposed to get a job, now?", he asked, trying not to sound disrespectful.

Mrs. Magda gave him a patient smile.

"That's not our problem, Mr. Frisk."

Silence fell between the two – Frisk had some trouble understanding the situation.

"Are you serious?", he asked, the hint of annoyance in his voice more hearable this time.

"It is hard enough to deal with the children here. We can't support those who could otherwise sustain themselves."

Frisk put his hand on his face and sighed – that was too much to think about and he definetely wasn't prepared for it.

"Ok, I'll get a job.", he said, his voice full of sarcasm. "Maybe when I leave I'll have enough money to rent a room for, say, four months. Five, if I get a _real_ good job."

"Better start now, then, right?"

"I guess.", Frisk said, standing up. "Can I leave?"

"Please."

He turned around and made his way out of the office – he wasn't happy to notice his hands were shaking a bit. He'd prefer to think it was because he was angry and revolted with that whole conversation.

But probably he was just scared.

* * *

Part of him was excited with the perspective of leaving the orphanage for good – he _hated_ that place. He'd run away countless times, even after his adventure in the Underground – the only difference being he preferred to stay away from Mt. Ebott since then.

However, there was no denying it – he was mostly scared. He didn't have any friends and he was always alone, but in the orphanage he had a bed and meals. Maybe the meals were more often bad than they were good, and the bed was only slightly more comfortable than the floor, but even then, that was more than a lot of people ever had. He knew that.

What would he do? Get a job? Who would hire him? He was a mess.

Frisk thought for a moment how these circumstances made people go to the underworld of crime. Quick, easy money, it was tempting. But he was determined not to give in to that. He was never, ever going to let the circumstances shape what kind of person he was _again_.

He was sat alone in the dormitory. It was already nighttime, but nobody else was in the room because they were dining – Frisk had finished his dinner quickly to read his book with some peace and quiet, though now he was just lost in thoughts. He gazed through the window to look at Mt. Ebott – and it stood there, imponent, daring, challenging like it had always been.

But now, he felt something different when looking to the mountain. Sure, he didn't like looking at it because of his experience six years prior – but now there was something _different_ in it. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but he felt like... something had changed. Maybe it was related to that weird dream he had?

Then, his thoughts wandered to the first person that actually offered their hand to help him. A person that not only did that, but also offered something more: love. And perhaps safety too. A person that, ironically, wasn't technically a person at all, yet was more kind than most human beings Frisk knew.

A person that was now dead because of him. He looked at his hands, almost feeling the dust in them.

No. It wasn't real, right? So, as far as he knew, he was guilty of nothing.

But then, why did he feel so bad?

The door opened and some boys, from all ages, came through. Some of them were chatting, some were laughing, some were quiet and serious. Frisk sighed. It would soon be time to turn in, so he picked up his book and continued his reading.

* * *

" _Ugh... you are stronger than I thought."_

 _Frisk realized, too late, he had done a terrible thing._

" _Listen to me, small one...", said Toriel in a sad tone._

 _Why? Why had he done it? She wasn't even trying to hit him anymore with her magic. He just panicked. When he realized, he hit her harder than he intended._

" _If you go beyond his door...", Toriel kneeled, unable to keep standing up. "Keep walking as far as you can."_

 _No... why had he wanted to leave so badly? Why couldn't he stay? Why couldn't he do anything right?_

" _Eventually you will reach an exit."_

 _She gasped, struggling to not collapse on the floor. Frisk now had tears on his eyes. He felt weird, in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. He tried to say he was sorry, but his voice was gone. Toriel breathed heavily for a while before continuing._

" _As-Asgore... Do not... do not let him... take your... soul...", her voice was now shaking, as if every word was a fight for it to come out._

 _Frisk looked down. He knew what he had done – he had seen it before. He had promised not to do it again, but he failed._

 _He couldn't handle it._

" _His... plan... cannot... be allowed to... succeed...", said Toriel, with every word her voice getting weaker and weaker._

 _How could he live on with what he'd done?_

" _Be good... won't you?"_

 _Frisk looked up. Toriel's whole body was shaking now, pieces of dust were already on the floor around her. Her face looked like it was melting, but she still managed to smile._

 _Oh no. No no no no no no no no no no..!_

" _M... m... my... ch-ch... child..."_

 _Her body then crumbled into a pile of white dust. Frisk dropped on his knees, and cried, like he hadn't ever cried before. He felt sad, alone, devastated. He felt a lot of things._

 _He didn't feel very determined._

* * *

Frisk woke up with a loud noise coming from outside – like an explosion not very far from the orphanage.

He was sweating, his clothes all stuck to his body. He hadn't bothered to change to pajamas.

Another explosion, this time accompanied by various zapping sounds. Those ones sounded distant, although not much.

The other kids started to wake up as well because of it.

"Ugh, what is going on?"

"What time is it?"

"I'm sleepy..."

 _BOOM_!

The third was the loudest explosion of them all – and in the moment it happened, all the lights on the streets went off. What little light had been coming through the windows was now non-existent. The room felt truly dark.

Everybody stopped talking. Some of the younger kids started to cry softly, scared.

Frisk walked towards one of the windows and opened the curtains.

He couldn't believe it.

The whole city was engulfed by darkness – but, not very far away there was a very bright spot. Tones of red, orange, blue and green were swirling around it.

It was unmistakable – Frisk had seen it before. The zapping sounds were familiar too.

Magic. _Hazardous_ magic.

The top of Mt. Ebott was under a magic fire, and Frisk could see the shadows of monsters coming down from it.


	3. Dust and Blood

It was hell.

The orphanage had been evacuated, but the kids ran away and got dispersed in the process.

Frisk was in the middle of the street. People were screaming. Monsters were running among them, attacking – some of them wore a special armor, which Frisk immediately recognized as the Royal Guard's armor, albeit modified to be sturdier.

Frisk ran aimlessly, trying to get to safety, but no place seemed to be safe. Harmful magic buzzed around. He saw people collapsed on the streets, some of them with bloodstains on their clothes.

The evening had started out peacefully, but within minutes after the first explosion the monsters had reached the city, spreading chaos. Frisk kneeled besides an abandoned car – he didn't know where to go or what to do. From a distance, he saw a group of armored Snowdrakes ganging up on a couple of humans.

What had happened? Frisk was attacked by Snowdrakes back when he was in the Underground, but this was different. Their attacks were more fierce and unstoppable – they weren't intending on leaving open space for the humans to counterattack.

They were intending to do harm.

They were intending to _kill_.

And it felt like _war_.

Shocked, Frisk took way too long to notice the group of Froggits and Vulkins approaching him from behind. He looked at them, hoping they wouldn't do anything.

One of the Vulkins spilt a jet of lava towards him. Frisk dodged just in time, and it hit the car instead. The place where it hit was melting fast, and the lava left a hole on it.

Before he could get up, the Froggits started bashing on him, bruising and keeping him in the ground. It hurt a lot; the heavy armors made the attacks hurt even more. He saw the Vulkins prepare another attack. If it hit, Frisk knew he wouldn't survive.

Suddenly, he heard gunshots, and in his panicked state Frisk thought someone was shooting at him.

"Retreat!", screamed one of the Vulkins, and the monsters backed away, but one of the Froggits was caught by the shooter and turned to dust, pieces of their armor falling over it.

Frisk got up, utterly shocked and slightly nauseated. He looked around to see who had saved him. A few feet away, a middle-aged man held a machine gun and was coming towards him.

"Hey kid, you okay?"

Frisk tried to speak, but his voice seemed to be gone.

"Okay, you are in shock. I don't understand what the hell is going on either, but we need to get out of..."

Before the man could finish his sentence, magic flew just above their heads and hit hard on a nearby building, leaving a fire on the spot. More destructive magic flew towards them, causing nearby explosions.

"Shit! Run, RUN!"

Frisk was already running; the man was not besides him anymore. He noticed he was in the middle of a crossfire. Gunshots could be heard, which meant humans were fighting back. Dust and blood mixed on the streats.

It smelled like death.

An explosive spell hit the ground just behind Frisk, knocking him down. He saw monsters and humans running. He heard screams. Some people were hit by spells and fell to the ground, limp.

He couldn't stand up – his arms and legs were shaking too hard. His breath was rapid and shallow and he felt sick. Was he gonna die there?

Maybe it was only right – again, he knew what was happening.

It was all _his_ fault. He deserved it.

But, despite everything, Frisk stood up. He didn't want to die. He _wasn't_ going to die.

He ran towards an abandoned building closest to him.

* * *

If not for the screaming, the constant noise of magic buzzing outside and the sounds of gunshots, Frisk could be sleeping.

He lay on the floor, tired, but he didn't dare to let himself sleep. The battle was still on full force outside, and someone could easily enter the building to kill him, or the building could just come crashing down if a well aimed explosive spell hit it. Either way, things were not looking too good.

He wished he could do more – but then, what would he do? Would he fight the monsters? Would he kill them?

" _I knew you had it in you._ ", familiar words echoed in his head. Frisk pushed them away.

"Stupid weed.", he mumbled.

He noticed his breathing was fast. He was full of adrenaline, even if he was laying down. It hurt. _Everything_ hurt. His face and arms were full of bruises, nothing too serious, but it made him feel sore.

A buzzing sound, an explosion, and the whole building shook. Some shelves on the walls broke, and things on the tables fell to the ground. Glass shattered around him.

"Oh, _god_."

Fortunately, the building resisted. Frisk closed his eyes, futilely trying to ignore the noises from outside.

Sometimes, he would almost fall asleep, but would wake alert just before it. He had to stay awake. He had to stay alive.

He didn't know how much time passed, but he could see the day coming up from the windows, and the noise from the battle starting to die out. He doubted the humans had been all killed, but didn't think the monsters were giving up either.

And that was just so, so _weird_. Frisk knew humans had more powerful souls than monsters – that was their unfair advantage that explained why they won the first war and the monsters were sealed in the Underground on the first place. But now, things seemed more even to both sides – had monsters grown stronger while humans grew weaker?

No, that couldn't be the answer. How could that explain so much destruction and death in the span of a few hours?

Now that everything was quiet, he was slowly drafting towards sleep.

* * *

 _Frisk blocked one more wave of spears being thrown at him. They were pointy and dangerous – it was taking all his concentration not being hit by even one of them. He couldn't move from his spot, but that showed not to be a problem._

 _It was weird, but the way to block was to face them. He shouted and screamed, pleading for mercy, but Undyne wasn't hearing. She was talking about how his soul would free the monsters, and how they would take the surface back._

" _Please!", screamed Frisk, "I don't want to fight! I... just want to be friends..!_

 _Somehow, this seemed to get through Undyne. She hesitated before her next attack, and Frisk could feel the spell she had cast on him wearing off. It was his chance._

 _He ran past her, and she tried to hit him with the spear, but Frisk managed to dodge it and kept running as fast as he could._

" _HEY, PUNK!", screamed Undyne. "NOT FAIR! COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"_

 _Frisk ignored and kept running. "Just want to be friends?" Why did he say that? She was trying to kill him, that didn't make any sense. Besides, he didn't have any friends, he didn't know what he was talking about._

 _Well... actually, he could say he had two friends now: two skeleton brothers he met back at Snowdin. They were a bit weird – one of them loved making puns and jokes, and had a taste for whoopee cushion pranks, and the other thought Frisk was madly in love with them before putting him on the "friendzone". But they were kind. They managed to make Frisk laugh when he was utterly broken. They restored his determination._

 _Somehow, Frisk was smiling, even with a furious Undyne on his track._

" _STOP RUNNING!", she shouted._

 _He felt his cellphone ringing and buzzing in his pocket, and picked it up, still running. He knew it could only be one person... or monster._

" _Hi, Papyrus!", answered Frisk, panting._

" _OH, HELLO HUMAN!", said Papyrus cheerfully. "WELL, I WAS THINKING. I HAVE THIS OTHER FRIEND. UNDYNE'S HER NAME. SHE'S REALLY COOL. WE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT TOGETHER SOMETIME!"_

 _Frisk felt a bit awkward – how would he reply to that? How would he tell that he actually knew Undyne, and they weren't really close to being friends in the moment?_

" _Sounds lovely."_

" _YIPEE!", shouted Papyrus, happy. "I MEAN, OF COURSE, HUMAN!", he added in a more moderated tone. "I WILL THINK OF A LOT OF FUN ACTIVITIES WE CAN ALL DO. WE CAN COOK SPAGHETTI! AND PLAY FIGHT! OOOH, MAYBE A SLEEPOVER?"_

 _They were clearly excited. Frisk glanced over his shoulder. Undyne was still running and had a maniac look on her face._

" _I'M SURE YOU AND UNDYNE WILL BE GREAT PALS!", Papyrus continued over the phone._

 _A spear passed by Frisk's side, missing him by milimetres. He heard the whooshing sound it made before it hit the ground feet away._

" _Yeah, I'm sure of it. Talk to you later, Papyrus."_

" _SEE YOU AROUND HUMAN! NYEH HEH HEH!", and with that, Papyrus hung up._

 _Frisk pocketed his phone, and somehow increased his speed at running. Suddenly, he was at another area, this one boiling. The ground was made of something that looked like orange dirt, but he wasn't sure. Pipes with steam coming from them hanged by the sides._

 _Just ahead, he saw a sentry post. Oh, that was bad – there was someone there. They would most definitely not allow him to pass._

 _Wait..._

 _The figure at the sentry post wasn't moving. In fact, it looked like it was sleeping..? Frisk just passed by them, and they didn't move._

 _He wasn't sure, but he thought the monster at the sentry was wearing a blue hoodie. No way... was that..?_

" _SANS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?", Frisk heard Undyne screaming. "A HUMAN JUST PASSED BY! GET YOUR LAZY BONES UP HERE AND HELP ME CAPTURE...", she stopped for a moment, and Frisk thought Sans was saying something. "OH NO, YOU DIDN'T DO THAT! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JOKE YOURSELF OUT OF THIS!? FORGET IT, I'LL JUST GO GET THEM MYSELF!"_

 _Frisk looked behind, and Undyne was back at running after him. He kept going, but realized she seemed to be having difficulty even at walking in that place._

" _Armor... too... hot...", said Undyne, panting heavily. "Must... keep... going..."_

 _She collapsed on the ground. Frisk looked behind. Oh, well, she should have known better. Fishes were more at home in water, after all._

 _He turned around and kept going, now just walking as his life wasn't in danger anymore._

* * *

When Frisk woke up, he felt like only minutes had passed.

It took him a while, and a good look across the wrecked room he was in, to remember what had been going on. The monsters broke down the barrier on Mt. Ebott, somehow, and were starting a war against the humanity.

And Frisk just had a good idea of who the leader could be.

He stood up, almost every part of his body aching, which didn't come as a surprise as he had bruises all over his arms and legs. Also, the fact that the floor wasn't a very comfortable place to sleep on didn't help his situation – but despite all that, he considered himself lucky just to be alive.

Exiting the apartment he was in, he noticed a hole by the end of the corridor – that must have been where that explosive spell he heard last night hit. As he was on the ground floor, he figured it would be better to exit through the hole rather than the front door – he didn't want to be surprised by an ambush or something like that.

He found himself in an alleyway, and looked to his left – the street was just up there.

His heart leaped inside his chest when he caught – or _thought_ he caught – a glimpse of a shadow looking at him, but quickly disappearing by the corner when it noticed Frisk was looking.

It looked oddly familiar.

"Hey, wait!", shouted Frisk, running towards the street, but before he reached it, he heard a whooshing sound. When he got to where the figure had been, nobody was there.

There was no way that was the one he was thinking. But... he thought he saw something blue. Maybe, just maybe..?

The town was completely silent, and the sky was overcast, the gray clouds covering every inch of it. After all the screaming and buzzing, Frisk thought silence would be welcome, but instead it only gave him a growing sensation of dread. Everything felt so broken. So sterile. So _dead_.

He could see spots of blood and dust in the ground, but there were no human corpses around, which struck Frisk as odd. Not that he was actually _wanting_ to see corpses, but he was sure people had been killed. Where were they?

He walked around the streets, trying to find someone – anyone, he just didn't want to be alone. The hair on his back was standing and he felt he was being followed.

But every time he looked behind his shoulder, there was no one there.

His mind wandered for a moment. What happened to the monsters? Had all of them been killed? Had they retreated back to the Underground? Had they just left the city and went ahead to the next one, to cause more destruction?

Frisk had the feeling the last hypothesis was the right one and hoped, with all his heart, he was wrong.

For some reason, he found himself back in front of the orphanage he lived in.

It was completely destroyed – the place was probably hit by too many attack spells and couldn't stand it. Maybe it was caught in a crossfire; Frisk had seen other destroyed houses, shops and buildings.

He didn't feel sad – he hated that place – but he couldn't help but feel a bit of worry with the other children – specially the younger ones. Had they escaped? Were they together, scared for life, trying to understand what was going on?

Were they dead?

Before he could wonder more, he heard footsteps. His body tensed up as he searched for the source of the noise – it turned out it came from a nearby street.

The footsteps echoed through the ghost town – everything was so silent, this sound was almost too loud.

The person that showed up was the last one Frisk thought that he would meet in a situation like this.

" _Frisk_?", said Mrs. Magda.

The whole situation seemed to have forced Mrs. Magda to change. Her hair was now without its bun, and it was messy all over her face. The beige dress she usually wore was dirty and ripped in different places. She was full of bruises, just like him, and wasn't wearing any footwear.

"Mrs. Magda." he simply replied.

"How are you _alive_?", she asked. "Oh my god..."

She was looking at what had remained of the orphanage. She looked devastated, and Frisk actually felt bad for her.

"The children, do you think..?"

"I'm... not sure."

Mrs. Magda looked like she was about to cry. This was too weird. Was it possible she actually cared for the kids that once lived there?

"I... I...", she tried to speak, but seemed to be at loss for words. "What _happened_? What were those things?"

"Monsters.", replied Frisk, looking to the ground. He couldn't stand to look at her so desperate. "They lived in the underground. At Mt. Ebott."

She blinked a few times.

"Like... like those childish legends? Of the war that happened many years ago?"

Frisk nodded.

"They are all true."

"But..."

"And they've come for revenge. They want to take the surface back."

And it was all Frisk's fault, but he didn't say that out loud.

"How do you know that?"

Frisk opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. How would he explain the little, tragic adventure he had when he fell to the Underground six years before?

"A-anyway...", she said, noticing Frisk wouldn't speak. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad I've found you. You are the only other live person from the orphanage I've encountered now."

He was actually glad he had found her too. He didn't know if he would stand being alone in that town, now a mere shadow of what it once was.

"We should stick together and find help.", said Frisk.

"Right. We can... we can find a car here. Then we can go to another city and... and..."

It all happened too fast.

Frisk caught a glimpse of something behind Mrs. Magda. A loud sound, and then she stopped speaking, a silent scream stuck in her throat.

A spear had pierced through her back, exiting through her chest. Drops of blood spilled at Frisk's shirt.

The spear had a glowing orange tone, and it disappeared shortly after, it's magic quickly dissolving. Mrs. Magda stumbled forward and fell, trying to grab Frisk's shirt in the process and leaving blood marks on it.

She looked to his face, her eyes wide with shock and terror, before her body became limp. She was dead.

Time seemed to slow down while Frisk's brain attempted to process what just happened. He had the vague notion his body was shaking and his breath had become erratic. He looked at his hands, Mrs. Magda's blood in them.

Fresh. Wet. Red. _Real_.

He fell to his knees, in pure shock.

Looking up, he saw the assassin standing a few feet away.

"You..!", was the only thing Frisk managed to say.

* * *

" _Yo... I... I hate your guts!"_

 _Frisk just looked at the monster kid's face. He didn't feel threatened or hurt at all – and it didn't help the monster was actually smiling when they said that. They were looking at Frisk with a look that seemed of half-expectation, which only left the human even more unsure of how to react._

" _Man... I'm... I'm such a turd."_

 _They looked away. Frisk wanted to say something – anything – but didn't find any words._

" _I'm... gonna go home now...", and with that, the monster kid started to walk away._

 _Frisk knew it – the bridge had a misplaced piece, which made it easy to trip and fall._

" _W-wait!", warned Frisk. "Careful... the bridge..!"_

" _What?", they asked, before tripping at that very misplaced spot and falling to the side of the bridge. "Wooooaaaaaah!"_

" _No!", screamed Frisk._

 _Fortunately, the monster kid had grabbed the ledge of a pillar that sustained the bridge using their mouth, since they had no arms._

" _Mmmmnngghhh! Mnngh mngh mnnnnnggghh!"_

 _They were trying to say something, but Frisk couldn't make any of it. He made a motion to go help when he saw her._

 _Undyne._

 _She was standing on the other side of the bridge, full armor, walking slowly towards Frisk. He hesitated. If Undyne caught him, he was as good as dead._

" _Mmmngh mngh mmmmmmmnggggghhhhh!"_

 _Undyne stopped in her tracks._

 _In that one second that passed, Frisk considered his options – he could run away and save his life, or he could help the monster kid and possibly risk being captured (or, most likely, killed)._

 _Making a snap decision, he ran to yellow monster's side and grabbed their head, pulling them to safety. It was surprisingly easy; that kid didn't weight much._

" _Are you okay?", asked Frisk._

 _The monster kid spit a bit, small pieces of rock from the pillar still in their mouth._

" _Y-yeah... I..."_

 _Before Frisk noticed, Undyne was imposingly standing in front of the two children._

 _However, the monster kid just stood up and looked straight in her eyes – which were only half-concealed by the helmet she wore._

" _Y... yo... d-dude... if you wanna hurt my friend... you are gonna have to g-get through me first!"_

 _They were shaking in fear, but didn't back out. Instead, Undyne was the one who retreated, confused, and disappeared in the distance._

" _W-whew... that was a close one... heheh." The monster kid turned around to face Frisk. "Thanks a lot, dude... If you hadn't..."_

" _Don't mention it. Just... go home, okay? Your parents must be worried."_

" _Yeah... um... you should go home too!", they said, before turning around and walking away again. "Later, dude!"_

 _As the monster kid walked away, Frisk smiled. He felt slightly proud at himself – he had done something good, for once._

" _Heh... later."_

* * *

Frisk knew it was them. Six years had passed, but it was unmistakable.

He looked at the reptilian yellow monster. They were wearing the same armor Frisk saw other monsters using, although theirs was adapted since the wearer had no arms. The helmet was also larger to fit the monster's rather large head.

He couldn't believe it. The monster kid he once helped in the Underground, now a killer.

"Did _you_ do this!?", shouted Frisk, surprised by how angry he sounded.

The monster didn't reply. They looked at loss for words, opening their mouth and closing again. Then, their gaze fixed on something behind Frisk.

He heard her voice before he could turn around.

"Good job finding him, MK! I'll make sure you get a raise once we take the surface back! For now, leave him to me."

The once monster kid looked back at Frisk, gulping. Then, they turned around and ran away, disappearing at the corner of a street.

"Coward.", mumbled Frisk.

"Hey! Aren't you gonna compliment an old enemy, punk?"

Frisk slowly turned around, already knowing who was talking to him – that voice, that manner of speaking, were imprinted on his mind, even if six years had passed since he last saw them.

"Undyne.", he said.

They looked at each other for a while. For all the time since Frisk fell the hole at Mt. Ebott, Undyne had changed little. Like all other monsters, her armor had also been modified, now sturdier and heavier. She wasn't wearing a helmet, kept now a short hair, and Frisk could see an earphone by her right ear.

She looked like a true warrior.

For some reason, Frisk felt strangely calm about this.

" _Why_? Why wage war on humanity?"

Undyne cocked her head upwards, looking at the human with an air of proud superiority.

"Isn't it obvious?", she began. "Humans have kept monsters underground for centuries. We are merely taking back what should be ours by default. It's all about justice."

"But your problem... is with me, and me only.", he said.

He looked down at Mrs. Magda's body on the floor. He still couldn't believe it – she was alive and well just the previous day, when she called Frisk for that conversation in her office. Who would have thought this would have happened?

He felt a sickening anger growing inside him – he never liked Mrs. Magda, but he never wished actual harm to her. He never wished for her to killed like that, like she was just a bothersome fly.

"You've killed innocent people.", he stated, his voice trembling.

"Don't you dare talk about killing innocent people, punk!", shouted Undyne, annoyed. "King Asgore... Queen Toriel... they were not only good rulers, they were also good monsters. And you killed them!"

Frisk felt his anger burning inside him with full force now. How _dare_ she talk about Toriel and Asgore? Like she knew anything that had happened, for starters.

"We are only giving you what you deserve.", she continued. "Now, don't think this is only about you. In fact, we could just take the surface without ever finding you and it would be fine. But I won't lie: killing you is gonna feel _good_."

Frisk was impressed Undyne hadn't started her attack yet – to be honest, she looked rather patient. Frisk had to buy time to figure how to escape the situation, so he decided to keep her busy.

The only thing he was sure of was that he wasn't going to surrender himself that easily. Not after what happened to Mrs. Magda.

"So... six years. Six years is what took you to break down the barrier. How'd you do that?", he asked. He was actually a bit curious about that, too – it was unlikely seven humans had fallen the hole at Mt. Ebott during that time span.

Undyne glanced a smug look to Frisk.

"Ha! Like I'm telling you that! You just need to know it was all thanks to the brilliant work of Dr. Alphys!", she answered.

"Alphys..?"

Frisk was genuinely surprised by that – of course he remembered Dr. Alphys. She tried to impress Frisk during his journey in the Underground by "protecting" him against Mettaton, the ultimate TV star of monsters, who presumably wanted Frisk dead. It turned out it was all a façade orchestrated by Alphys herself, who just wanted for someone to admire her; to need her.

He knew Alphys was close friends with Undyne, but doubted she would actually take part in helping the empress in their plan to destroy humanity. It just... it didn't match the quirky personality of the royal scientist.

"But why am I telling you this?", asked Undyne, smiling. "You are gonna die, anyway!"

With that, she summoned a magic spear. It shined a light blue light.

Frisk was scared – there was no denying that. But he also felt defiant, in a way he had perhaps never felt before. His determination coarsed through his body, and he wasn't about to let himself die to Undyne.

"Do your worst.", he said through gritted teeth.

Undyne laughed before throwing the spear at an unbelievable speed towards Frisk.

Before he could do anything, the spear shattered just before it reached him.

Frisk blinked. There was... something spinning right in front of him; spinning so fast it actually shielded him from Undyne's attack. It started to slow down afterwards, before falling to the ground with a hollow sound.

It was a bone.

"heya, kiddo.", said a familiar voice behind him. "did ya miss me?"


	4. Constellations

Frisk glanced behind his shoulder. There it was: blue hoodie, hands in pockets and that famous grin. He never thought he'd feel so relieved to meet them again after all this time.

"Hey, Sans.", said Frisk, smiling.

"Sans!", screamed Undyne. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Sans looked to the corpse on the floor – for a moment, it seemed his grin failed to maintain, but the next second, he was already smiling like usual, looking at Undyne.

"just thought i'd pass by and say hello", he answered, his voice as calm as ever. "wanted to see an old friend, that's all."

He winked at Frisk.

"Old friend!?", said Undyne, furious. "He killed the queen _and_ the king! And a couple of other monsters, while he was at it! Don't tell me you fell for his tricks!"

"now, now, undyne...", Sans closed both his eye sockets. Being a skeleton, Frisk had no idea how he did that. "it's rude to talk about someone who's listening."

With that, Sans opened his left eye, now showing a ghastly blue glow. Frisk shivered – the eye made him feel nervous, like a bad memory coming up, although he was sure he'd never seen the skeleton's eye glow like that before.

Undyne readied another spear, but Sans was faster and more effective: he simply pointed his left arm to her, and cast a blue light towards the empress. She couldn't dodge, and the magic's effects started just as it hit her. Frisk watched as Undyne fell to the ground, unable to stand her own weight.

"what's the problem, empress? feeling a little 'blue'? heheh.", Sans looked at Undyne struggling on the floor, before taking a good look at Frisk. "'sup, kid? you've grown up, right? but it's still easy to recognize you."

"How did you find me?", asked Frisk.

"heh, we've been trying to track you since the monsters broke free..."

"' _We_ '? You mean..."

"yep, pretty much."

Frisk couldn't help but smile. Of course, there was only one live being on the entire Earth who would do anything to find a long lost friend in the middle of a war, and even make their brother help.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise next to them, similar to that of glass shattering, and before Frisk knew it Undyne was up again – she had broken free from the blue magic.

"You fool!", she screamed. "Do you think you can use your magic against me? Did you forget I have control over everyone's magic now?"

"oh, damn. i might have.", said Sans, finally letting go of his grin. If skeletons could turn pale, Frisk thought he would have.

"What? Control everyone's magic? What's she talking about?", asked Frisk, but Sans was with his eyes fixed at Undyne, his left one starting to show that eerie glow again. "Sans, what is going on?"

"Sans of Snowdin Town!", continued Undyne. "You are under arrest for the crime of treason! Show any resistance, and I'll use lethal magic!"

"eh, was never too much of a patriot anyway.", Sans shrugged his shoulders, and looked at Frisk, his grin back and his eyes normal. "okay, we will have to go for plan b."

"What's plan b?"

Sans looked to the side in a mischievous way.

"run."

They gave a step back before a spear flew, passing by right where they were. Frisk didn't ask again, and simply ran away – Sans keeping up besides him. For someone thought to be lazy, Sans was rather agile and fast when he needed to be.

"I need reinforcements!", they both heard Undyne running behind them, speaking to her earphone. "The human is with a skeleton monster! Come here ASAP!"

They ran through some streets, Undyne throwing her magic spears at them in an attempt to slow them down. Frisk dodged them easily, and Sans didn't have much trouble as well. They weren't going to any specific place, just going on "autopilot" and hoping to dismiss Undyne before the reinforcements arrived. It was a pretty bad plan, but they didn't have anything better.

Frisk thought he was going all well before something hit him and he froze on the spot. Initially horrified, he thought a spear had hit him on his back, but he was intact. He just couldn't move.

" _Dammit_!", yelled Frisk. "Sans! SANS!"

Sans was running in front of the human and didn't notice, but turned around when he heard his name.

"oh, crap." he said, running back to Frisk. "hold on, kid!"

But just before they could reach him, Frisk saw the same magic that hit him hitting the skeleton. They both couldn't move now. To put it in other terms, they could only turn around on the same spot, but that was it.

The effects of "green magic" weren't very pleasing.

"You are both...", said Undyne, stoping a few feet away. "...SENTENCED TO DEATH!"

She summoned a spear to Sans' right, but he turned to face it just before it hit, blocking it.

"ya know how green works, buddo?", asked Sans, still maintaining his voice calm. Frisk didn't know how he always kept that chill behavior all the time, even when his life was on the line like that.

"Don't worry.", said Frisk, blocking a spear that came from behind. "I've done this before."

Undyne kept throwing spears at the duo, who blocked them all. They were getting increasingly faster, and Frisk knew it was only a matter of time for one of them to hit – and one hit was all it would take. He was also worried about the reinforcements: it had been some time since Undyne called them, which meant they would get there by any minute now.

"just hold on a bit longer, kiddo.", said Sans, blocking three more spears. "help is coming."

"Help?", asked Frisk, turning around to block spears coming from all directions. "Who..?"

Who was he kidding? He _knew_ who it was. He just hoped they'd arrive soon. Both he and Sans were relying mostly on luck now.

The way they had to turn around to block the spears made them look like they were doing a bizarre dance. At any other situation, that might had been fun. But it wasn't funny when they were doing that purely for survival.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. He didn't know how he did it with the constant buzz of the magic spears around him, but it was increasingly louder. Fortunately, it seemed to distract Undyne as well, and her attacks slowed down.

"What..?", she asked confused, looking behind Sans and Frisk.

It sounded like a... car?

Frisk turned around, and gasped as a convertible car almost run him and Sans over, just stopping at the last moment. The wheels made a screeching noise against the street. On the driver seat...

"SORRY, UNDYNE!", said Papyrus, raising his hand and making blue bones appear all around Undyne. "I HOPE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS AFTER THIS IS ALL OVER!"

"What!?", shouted Undyne, taken aback. "Papyrus!? Not _you_ too! I can't believe it!"

The shock was all it took for Frisk and Sans break free of the green magic. They ran to the convertible car, Frisk sitting between the skeleton brothers.

"papyrus, go!", shouted Sans, closing the door. He didn't need to say it twice: Papyrus had already drove away from a shocked Undyne. In the next second, they had already turned a corner, and Papyrus was only speeding up.

"OH, HELLO HUMAN!", said Papyrus, his voice as loud as ever. "SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! SORRY UNDYNE IS KIND OF TRYING TO KILL YOU! SORRY WE MONSTERS STARTED A WAR AGAINST YOU HUMANS! SORRY THE CAR'S PAINT IS SCRATCHED, I HOPE YOU..."

"whoa, calm down, pap.", said Sans, louder than usual because the wind buzzed in their ears due to the high speed. "you are going to make the kid want to throw themselves away from the car."

"Are you kidding!?", said Frisk, laughing. "That was awesome!"

Papyrus seemed to be proud of himself.

"heh, you know pap, buddy.", said Sans. "he was 'bone' to be wild."

Papyrus seemed to be wanting to kill Sans.

"SANS! NOW IS NOT THE TIME!"

"heheh, sorry. you know i'm just having some 'pun', bro."

"SANS, I'M WARNING YOU..!"

Frisk's smile faded as he glanced back. A bunch of armored Whimsuns and Whimsalots were flying behind them, readying their magic attacks. Sans noticed too.

"uh-oh. we're in trouble."

Papyrus glanced at the rearview mirror before turning on another corner.

"USE YOUR MAGIC, SANS! DON'T HURT THEM, JUST SLOW THEM DOWN!"

Sans raised his arm, trying to summon his magic... but nothing happened.

"damn, i can't. undyne's blocked my magic."

The monsters were getting closer, their attacks already reaching the car.

Sighing, Papyrus snapped his fingers. A single bone materialized over his hand. He grabbed it and threw it away.

"I STILL HAVE MY MAGIC, I WILL DO IT!", decided Papyrus. "HUMAN, DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE?"

If not for the noises of magic buzzing around them, as well as the cries from the monsters chasing them, there would be an uncomfortable silence in the air.

"Um... no."

"OH! BUT WORRY NOT!", said Papyrus, catching a glimpse of an apologetic expression in Frisk's face. "IT'S REALLY EASY! JUST GRAB THE WHEEL!"

"I'm... I'm not sure–"

"pap..!", shouted Sans.

The taller skeleton simply shook his head away from an explosive magic that almost hit him. It hit a nearby store instead, making the glass from the windows shatter. Sans gave a sigh of relief.

"kiddo, i don't wanna push you or anything...", said Sans, looking straight at Frisk's eyes. "but grab that wheel. right. now."

Frisk gulped before grabbing the wheel, his eyes glued to the avenue ahead. Soon he would have to turn around, and he had no idea how to do it.

"I WILL KEEP MY FEET ON THE PEDALS! YOU JUST WORRY ON STEERING!"

"Okay, got it."

"YOU CAN DO IT, HUMAN!"

"listen, i love this moment of 'believe in yourself' and stuff, but could we focus on _not_ dying for now?"

Frisk heard Papyrus summoning his magic, but didn't dare to look. He had to make the car take a sharp turn. Squinting his eyes, he turned the wheel.

Somehow, Papyrus managed to work with the brakes and accelerator to make the turn perfect, without even looking. Frisk was really impressed, but he had to keep focused.

"careful, kid!", Sans grabbed Frisk's head and pulled it downwards, avoiding a magic attack. It hit the car's glass, which shattered with a loud noise. Frisk almost lost control of the car, but managed to hold it before it went spinning. Broken glass was all over him, but it didn't do any harm.

"NOBODY! IS! GOING! TO! DIE!", with each word, Frisk could hear Papyrus summoning his magic. "ON! THE WATCH! OF! THE! GREAT! PAPYRUS..!

Frisk managed to make another sharp turn. With Papyrus handling the pedals, it was almost too easy. He heard the skeleton gasp at his side, at the same time Sans gave a joyful laugh.

"hahah! get duuuuunked oonnn!"

"OH MY! ARE THEY ALRIGHT?"

"they will be fine, pap. just focus for now."

Frisk had no idea what had happened, but couldn't ask at the moment. He took yet another turn, this time on a rather narrow street. The small buildings on both sides were close to each other.

"pap, we can dismiss them here. it's our chance.", said Sans. "summon blue bones on the buildings!"

"WHAT? BUT SANS...", protested Papyrus. "THEY WILL BE HURT!"

Nobody said anything for a moment, and Frisk thought Sans would scream with Papyrus for being so forgiving with their chasers. They were going full force on them, why couldn't the taller skeleton do the same?

"i know, pap.", said Sans instead. "but there is no other way. it's not gonna be lethal, anyway. please. for the kid."

Frisk wasn't sure he liked that, but was too busy to say anything. Papyrus sighed.

"FINE."

He heard Papyrus working through his magic for a while. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, like a big electrical shock, and all the other noises stopped. Papyrus went full on the brakes.

"what..?", said Sans. "pap... pap, we _really_ need to get outta here."

"I KNOW, I JUST...", Frisk looked at Papyrus, and they were shaking.

He looked behind. The chasers were now on the ground, and most of them seemed to be unconscious. Above them, a wall of blue bones connecting two buildings had formed. It was impressive.

The monsters didn't seem to be turning into dust, and Frisk felt a strange relief.

"LET'S GO.", said Papyrus, sitting straight in the driver's seat and grabbing the wheel once more. "SEE, HUMAN? I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT."

Frisk gave a shy smile to Papyrus before letting the wheel go. The skeleton accelerated, and they started to make their way out of town.

* * *

Although Papyrus wasn't driving as fast as he was when they were being chased, Frisk still had to squint his eyes to protect them a bit from the wind – the fact the car no longer had the front window didn't help, either. He looked at Sans and Papyrus – skeletons, on the other hand, didn't seem to have trouble with wind blowing through their eyes... or eye sockets, anyway.

They were driving on a highway. It was quiet – too quiet, in fact – and they hadn't met any other cars on the way. Sans was resting his head in his right hand, looking to the seemingly infinite highway in front of them.

Since they left the city, there had been few words. Frisk could feel they were tired. He was also tired. He wondered where they would sleep that night.

"how much gas do we have?", asked Sans.

Both Papyrus and Frisk looked at the gas display and gave a sigh with almost perfect sincronization.

"IT'S RUNNING ON BACKUP GAS.", said Papyrus. He was with a serious expression ever since he had stopped their chasers back in town. "WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN IT RUNS OUT?"

Sans looked to the side, to the small woods besides the highway.

"we can go in the woods. sleep somewhere in there.", answered Sans. "we shouldn't camp in the open, not with these circumstances anyway."

Oddly enough, the thought seemed to have cheered Papyrus up.

"CAMPING? WOWIE! CAN WE MAKE A FIRE AND TOAST MARSHMALLOWS?"

"heheh. sorry, bro. maybe next time.", Sans lifted his head and grinned. "we will have to sleep on the dirt, so it's not going to be so 'in tents' this time."

"OH MY GOD, SANS! WHY MUST YOU RUIN _EVERYTHING_ WITH YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS!?"

"i think they are pun-tastic."

"IT'S THE SECOND TIME YOU DO A PUN WITH THE WORD 'PUN'! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE PROOF OF TERRIBLE COMEDY!"

"hey, at least the kid likes it!"

"NO, THEY DON'T!"

"yes, they do. they're smiling."

And Frisk was indeed smiling. These small, random discussions were somehow comforting for him. He tried to conceal his smile when Papyrus looked, but the skeleton had already noticed.

"UGH! SANS' TERRIBLE SENSE OF HUMOR IS RUBBING ON YOU, HUMAN! YOU SHOULDN'T TALK TO HIM! HE'S A BAD INFLUENCE!"

"hey, that's not true! the kid loves me! right, buddo?"

Frisk looked at Sans's face. He looked expectant to Frisk, like a puppy just about to be pet by their master. He had no idea Sans could make such face.

"Um... right."

"see?", said Sans with a smug.

"OKAY, BUT I SUGGEST YOU TO BE MORE LIKE A ROLE MODEL TO THEM! LIKE I AM!"

"heh, sure thing, bro."

"I'M _SERIOUS_! YOU WILL HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR YOUR BEHAVIOR! YOU WILL HAVE TO STOP BEING MESSY! AND, ONCE WE RESOLVE THIS MATTER WITH UNDYNE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITIES OVER YOUR PET ROCK! OH, AND YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO STOP DRINKING SO MUCH KETCHUP! IT'S DISGUSTING!"

"oooow, but i love ketchup!", said Sans with a groan.

"WHY'S THAT, I'LL NEVER KNOW! BESIDES, I HAVE A FEELING HUMANS ALREADY DRINK TOO MUCH KETCHUP!"

"Why?", asked Frisk, curious by the reason Papyrus would have reached such conclusion.

"OH... IT'S JUST THAT, BACK IN TOWN, I SAW SOME HUMANS SLEEPING! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!", said Papyrus. Frisk felt chills being sent down his spine – he knew where this was going. "SOME WERE WITH A LOT OF KETCHUP OVER THEM. I DON'T GET IT. THEY WERE BEING ATTACKED, WHAT WERE THEY DOING WITH KETCHUP?"

Frisk looked to Sans, who in turn was looking the other way. How would he respond to _that_?

"Yeah. Crazy, huh?", answered Frisk, feeling his stomach twist and turn.

Sweet, innocent Papyrus. Of course he didn't know. When monsters died, they turned into dust, but humans... humans weren't so lucky. Even though many monsters knew about how human death was different from their death, Papyrus was one of those blessed by ignorance. Maybe it was for the best.

Luckily, or unluckily, that was the moment the backup gas finished. The car started to slow down, until it came to a halt. The trio found themselves in the middle of the highway, while the sun slowly disappeared on the horizon.

"welp, we have to go. find somewhere to stay, if possible before night.", said Sans, opening the car door and stretching his bones. "c'mon. our camp trip can't wait."

* * *

The tops of trees filtered what little light was remaining for the day, and that made seeing things much harder than it normally would. Frisk tripped on vines here and there all the time – it made him remember the hole at Mt. Ebott; the entrance to the Underground. If anything, the fact Frisk tripped on a vine was the reason that whole situation was happening.

That thought made him want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Sans and Papyrus were besides him. They were trying to find a good spot to spend the night – maybe a clearing – but it couldn't be too far away from the highway, as it was their reference to get to... well, to get anywhere. They had no plan – they were just walking aimlessly.

Still, Frisk couldn't help but to feel... relieved, he thought. It wasn't happiness – maybe happiness was an unreal feeling in the moment – but it was close. It felt a bit safer. A bit familiar. He was sure this was better than being alone.

Frisk's head was still bursting with questions, and he thought maybe Sans and Papyrus had some answers. He was afraid of questioning them, but honestly, there was no reason not to. He wanted to understand what had happened to the Underground. What had happened to everybody.

"Hey, um...", said Frisk, clearing his throat. Sans and Papyrus looked at him. "I wanted to know... how did you break the barrier? It's hard to believe you could get seven human souls in six years, considering it took a lot more to gather those you had."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Only this time around, there was no wind howling to make it more bearable.

"UM... THIS IS NOT A HAPPY TOPIC OF CONVERSATION IN THE MOMENT, HUMAN.", said Papyrus, looking down.

"It's never going to be a happy topic of conversation, Papyrus. Besides...", Frisk thought carefully of what he was going to say next. "I want to know what happened to the monsters. Why is everybody so... _aggressive_ , I guess. It wasn't like that when I was in the Underground."

"OH, THAT... THAT...", Papyrus seemed resistant, like he was around a touchy subject. Well, they _were_ indeed handling a touchy subject.

"undyne brainwashed everybody.", said Sans, dryly.

"SANS! THIS..."

"it's true, pap. sorry.", Sans seemed to be really sad to be saying that. "i know it hurts you. it hurts me too."

Frisk looked at Papyrus. The taller skeleton's expression was full of sorrow. Frisk felt a little bad having brought the subject up, but he still wanted to know.

"you remember, right? a few months after the kid left the underground...", said Sans, but Papyrus interrupted.

"I DO."

Another silence. Frisk could almost taste it: the story of a ruined friendship; that didn't have a happy ending.

"What happened?", he finally asked.

Sans gave a long sigh before looking to Frisk.

"undyne started to appear more in public, make speeches and stuff. she even got her own TV program. she made all that talk: the pride of monsterkind, ruined by humanity. the last human that fell and took away all our hope. how we could make the humans pay. how we needed to stay united."

Frisk didn't say a word. He just looked at Sans, trying not to look away. It was a hard task – his guilt made him want to hide himself. And he had the feeling Sans knew it.

"eventually...", continued the shorter skeleton. "people simply started to buy it. it was slow at first, but hatred for humanity spread like a contagious virus. those who showed sympathy for humans in public were considered traitors, and were arrested, put in a dungeon beneath new home. quite a handful were put there. rumor has it they were tortured, but nobody knows."

"I TRIED TO STOP HER.", finally said Papyrus. "I TRIED... TO MAKE HER SEE WHAT WE HAD BECOME. WHAT MONSTERS HAD BECOME. I TOLD HER SHE COULD JUST LEAVE THIS HATRED BEHIND AND WE COULD RETURN TO DO THE COOL STUFF WE DID BACK THEN. BUT... SHE SAID IT WOULD NEVER RETURN. AND THEN SAID WHAT I DID WAS BASICALLY TREASON, BUT AS I WAS HER FRIEND SHE WOULD LET IT SLIP."

"yep...", said Sans, closing his eyes. "we had to fake it. say things like 'death for all humans' in public. i never believed any of that crap, but i had to say it or i would be arrested. you must think we were really coward, huh, kid?"

Frisk was surprised by that assumption – it couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Not at all.", answered Frisk. "You had to do what you had to do. Plus, you wouldn't have been able to come and find me if you were arrested."

"heh, that's right.", said Sans, smiling.

"Okay. So Undyne militarized the Underground and fed everyone with a desire for vengeance.", said Frisk. "What about the barrier? When Undyne found me, she let it slip it was because of Dr. Alphys work, but I have a hard time believing that."

"actually, that was exactly it.", continued Sans, his expression serious again. "the barrier coming down was all thanks to alphys. she had studied human souls and discovered they all had a common substance: determination."

Frisk blinked a few times, partially because now it was really dark, and partially because he wasn't sure he understood.

"Determination? Like, the will to keep going?"

"yep, spot on.", said Sans. "determination gives power to humans. but what it does on them is not so important in this story. what matters... is what it does to monsters."

Frisk shivered, and he was sure it wasn't because of the temperature. No, for some reason, he knew that explanation wasn't going to be pleasant.

"monsters can't handle high amounts of determination.", explained Sans. "we melt and transform into these blobs of nothing. we lose our minds. when alphys had just been assigned to be the royal scientist, one of her first experiments revolved around using determination in monsters who had fallen down to try to mimick human souls."

They had stopped walking by now. Frisk could barely see the skeleton brothers' faces in the dark.

"needless to say, it had disastrous results. the monsters completely lost it, they melted and fused together. sounds like something from a horror movie, huh?", said Sans, and Frisk had the feeling they could see his spooked expression in the dark. "alphys called these fused monsters 'amalgamates'. they used to live in a hidden part of her lab."

Frisk remembered Alphys's lab. It looked like a messy, nerdy place, and he didn't remember seeing freaks created from experiments wandering around. He could never believe she would have done something like that.

"anyway, in the last six years, aplhys helped undyne creating devices and chemicals to assist her in the upcoming war against humanity. i don't believe she ever took that crap of 'humans are the scum of the Earth' as truth; i think she just wanted to see undyne happy. she was the one who developed a determination-based potion to undyne, that allowed her to enhance, or, if necessary, cut out the magic from other monsters. you saw what happened, but let's forget it for now. the important part is that she shared her theory that the amalgamates, despite everything, could still be used as phony human souls."

"What do you mean by 'phony human souls'?", asked Frisk.

"i mean that, while they were a complete mess, they still had a lot of determination inside them. more than that, they also retained a monster soul. and i've told ya, the main substance in human souls is determination. so alphys thought that maybe, just maybe, they could use the amalgamates to 'trick' the barrier."

"But they would need to kill them.", concluded Frisk, afraid of the next logical step. "Did it work?"

Sans was now sitting on the ground, resting his back against a tree.

"welp... i think you can see the answer for yourself, huh?", said Sans, waving his arms around. "it's ironic, really. everybody was always in expectations for another human to fall down, but... the answer had been under our noses all the time."

Frisk and Papyrus also sat on the ground. Frisk thought, for a moment, he would be sleeping there that night. He found himself longing for the concrete floor he had slept on the previous night.

"then, it must have hit her. when she shared that information, when she built all those gadgets and other things to help undyne... she condemned humanity. she must have hated herself."

Frisk wasn't sure, but he had the impression Sans' eye sockets were completely empty.

"one day, i visited her lab. i was worried. when i entered, everything was dark. i found her lab coat on top of her dust... and a suicide note open in her computer."

"God...", it was all Frisk could say. Papyrus remained silent.

"i guess it all makes sense now.", said Sans. "i... hadn't really noticed before."

They all kept silent; Frisk processing what he had just learned. On the bare minimum, that was one more death he was responsible for. He knew how Alphys had just wanted to be accepted – he could believe the fact she'd help Undyne because she wanted to please, to be useful.

But it was unfair. She didn't deserve that ending.

"so, i guess we'll have to rest here.", said Sans. "we will settle down around here, but you are free to find the softest spot on the ground as you please."

"I think we should take turns to keep a watch.", suggested Frisk. "Just for safety..."

"YES, I AGREE.", said Papyrus. "I CAN BE THE FIRST ONE. YOU TWO JUST GO TO SLEEP."

"hey pap, you should take it easy.", said Sans, a hint of concern in his voice. "you drove for a long time and consumed a lot of magic today, let me start the watch."

"IT WAS A LONG DAY FOR EVERYBODY, SANS.", said Papyrus. "IT'S NOT LIKE YOU TO POST-PONE SLEEP, ANYWAY. ARE YOU FEELING WELL?"

"i'm fine bro, i'm just worried about you."

"WELL, WORRY NOT, FOR I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND I WILL BEGIN THIS WATCH! YOU WILL BE NEXT, SO YOU BETTER BE WELL RESTED AND READY WHEN I CALL YOU!"

"heh, alright, if you say so, bro. when you get tired, call me, 'kay?", said Sans.

"YES, I WILL. MEANWHILE, I AM GOING TO TRY TO BE AS QUIET AS I CAN. GOOD NIGHT, YOU TWO."

"night, pap.", said Sans, as Papyrus walked away. "night, kiddo."

"Night.", said Frisk.

He rested his back against a nearby tree, like Sans did. It wasn't so bad, it was actually a bit inclined, like it was meant to be slept on. It didn't take him long to actually fall asleep, and, for the first time in a long, long time, he didn't dream at all.

* * *

Frisk woke up to the gentle breeze of the night. It wasn't cold – on the contrary: it felt quite pleasant.

He took some time to remember where he was. It was still dark and he couldn't see much further, and for a moment he felt afraid that Sans and Papyrus had left him there.

Just as that thought crossed his head, he heard soft snoring. It was almost funny to hear, as it ended with a "nyeheheh" sound. Papyrus was close, which meant Sans was on his shift.

He got up, stretching his back. Sleeping by a tree for the night wasn't really comfortable and didn't help his achy body. He wondered when he would sleep on a real bed again.

He wasn't feeling sleepy anymore, although he doubted he had slept more than three hours. He decided he could as well search for Sans. The skeleton shouldn't be far, and Frisk wanted to see if they weren't sleeping during their shift.

The human gave careful steps, his eyes still getting used to the dark – a flashlight would have been useful in that situation. He accidentally stepped on a stick on the floor, and it cracked, making Papyrus mumble something about a dog picking his bones, though they didn't wake up.

He walked on a circle around the place they had settled in, trying to find a sign of Sans. Then he saw them – they were sitting on the trunk of a tree that had fallen to the ground, bathed by moonlight, as the trees there were slightly more sparse. They were looking at something above.

"hey, buddo.", said Sans as the human approached, still looking above. "your shift is next. don't you wanna catch up a little more sleep?"

"I'm impressed _you_ aren't sleeping.", replied Frisk, sitting besides Sans. "I could be a kidnapper, or one of Undyne's soldiers."

"nah, i knew it was you. i recognized your steps."

"My... steps..?", said Frisk, confused. Sans didn't answer, and the human decided he didn't really want to know.

"i never imagined the sky here was so beautiful.", said Sans.

Frisk looked above. There wasn't much of the sky he could see between the tops of the trees, but it was a starry night. It was beautiful, indeed.

"the closest thing to this in the underground was..."

"That cavern at Waterfall.", completed Frisk.

Frisk remembered the cavern with the little shiny stones that mimicked stars. Monsters would go there to make wishes, one of the most popular being to see the real stars someday. He was a little sad to admit that probably not many monsters had taken the time to appreciate the stars – not in the current status they were in.

"yeah. i read all about the sky of the surface.", said Sans, finally looking at Frisk. "but seeing the real deal is a lot more breathtaking."

"You read books about the night sky?", said Frisk, not doing anything to avoid a smug look coming to his face. "I thought you only read joke books?"

"heheh, joke books are the finest literature there is.", said Sans, winking. "but a bit of variety is good once in a while. do you know the constellations?"

"To be honest, no.", said Frisk, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I lived here all my life, so I always took this view for granted. I never bothered to learn them."

"here, if you move your head around a bit you can spot some.", said Sans, looking at the sky again.

Sans pointed the place of a few constellations he could identify. Frisk was actually amazed by how much the skeleton knew. It didn't take really long, but Frisk appreciated the moment – looking at the stars, he felt his problems were far, far away. He was also smiling during the whole explanation.

After that, they both sat in a companionable silence. A breeze blew behind them.

"so...", Sans broke the silence. "i noticed a thing. it makes me embarrassed to say it, but i never asked what your name was. i was fine to call you 'kid' and 'kiddo' in the underground, but now you are quite grown up, so i guess it's a bit weird if i keep calling you that."

"I don't really mind.", responded Frisk, shrugging his shoulders.

"that's okay, but i think it's bad to be friends with someone you don't even know the name. you are not the first one, if you recall."

Frisk shivered, and it had nothing to do with the breeze. Yes, he knew exactly _who_ he was talking about.

Way to ruin a good moment.

"so, let's start this over, shall we?", said Sans. "'sup, what's your name?"

Sans offered a handshake. Frisk knew what was coming. He smiled.

"Frisk.", he said, while he grabbed Sans' hand. A loud, obnoxious sound escaped from the whoopee cushion that they were holding. Frisk laughed.

"sans.", simply said the skeleton.

"This is gonna wake Papyrus up.", said Frisk.

"nah, we are far. and in case he does wake up, we can always say _he_ was the one who farted."

Frisk laughed again. It sounded weird, like he had forgotten how to laugh.

"you know, frisk...", said Sans, picking up a small vine from the ground and fiddling it with his fingers. "when i first saw you exiting the ruins in the underground six years ago, i was impressed by your expression. not in a positive way."

"What do you mean?", asked Frisk, curious.

"well, you had that... serious expression. like you had gone through stuff no child should."

In a sense, it was true. Frisk's childhood was hard enough, and considering what had happened in the Underground before he met Sans and Papyrus, he really had no reason to be smiling when he first entered Snowdin.

"when i saw you with that expression, it broke my metaphorical heart. i knew i had to try to make you laugh. i succeeded real easy, didn't i?", said Sans, grinning. "i was proud of myself."

Frisk smiled. It was true: the skeleton brothers shenanigans managed to make him laugh when he thought he'd never laugh again. From that point on, his journey on the Underground was far more bearable than it would have been otherwise.

"i guess i related.", continued Sans. "i did go through stuff no child should when i was young. but that story... is for another time."

Part of Frisk was curious to know more about the brothers' story before they got to Snowdin, because nobody really knew where they had come from. However, he respected Sans' wishes and didn't push it.

"now, i'll understand if you don't wanna talk about it...", continued Sans. "but i'd like to know, frisk... what did you go through in the underground? everybody says you killed the king and the queen cold-blooded, but... i want to know your side of the story."

Frisk got quiet, unsure of what to say. He didn't know if he was ready to share that story. He didn't know if he would ever be ready.

Part of him was afraid Sans would hate him for it; the other part was afraid they weren't going to believe him. He never told anybody what had passed – it wasn't like he ever had anybody to share the tale of his journey, anyway.

"if you don't want to tell now, that's okay.", said Sans, as Frisk didn't say anything. "you can tell when you are ready. i'll do the same."

"I was raised at an orphanage.", began Frisk.

He could feel that Sans was looking at him.

"I don't remember much about my life before the orphanage. Not even my mother. Just, one day – I think I was four – I was there, and I remember missing her for weeks. I thought she would come and get me, but... well... she never did."

Frisk took a long sigh, which was appropriate, since this was going to be a long story. He wasn't sure he was doing the right thing, though.

"I guess it took me three years to realize she was really dead.", he continued. "I... I don't remember feeling really sad when I realized it, it was more like... more like someone had flicked a switch in my brain, and I finally saw it, you know? But that didn't change my life in the orphanage – I never liked that place, and noticing my mother was no longer here in this world didn't have much effect in that. I'd still run away countless times – deep inside, I think I wanted to stay away as much as possible from there. But I'd always come back."

Sans didn't say a word. They seemed to be paying the ultimate attention to Frisk, who tried to sit more comfortably on the branch. He didn't like the next part of the story.

"Until, one day, in one of those times I ran away, I decided to wander around Mt. Ebott. I knew the legends, of course – it's pretty famous with the locals, although not so much in the rest of the country. I wanted to challenge the mountain; to see if those fairytales were true and... well, you know where that got me. I fell to the Underground."

Frisk was feeling his mouth dry, and he realized he had never spoken so much for so long before – mainly because there was never someone to listen. But now, Sans was there with him, willing to do just that – even if the human wasn't sure if he liked the conversation topic at hand.

"I was really impressed I didn't die when I fell that hole – there was a bed of flowers on the bottom, which softened the fall. Whether that's fate or pure luck, I don't really know... anyway, as I couldn't get back up, I decided to go through the tunnels, and that was when I met _it_ for the first time. A yellow, talking flower, that was really friendly to me at first. They said they wanted to share a bit of 'LOVE' through their 'friendliness pellets', and... looking back now, I don't know how I could be so stupid to have trusted in them, because they tried to kill me with those very same pellets."

"a talking flower...", mumbled Sans, as if he was remembering something.

"Before they could do anything, a goat monster came and saved me. Guided me through the Ruins. I didn't know at the time, but that was Toriel: former queen of the Underground and, at the time I met her, caretaker of the Ruins."

Frisk knew that Sans was friends with Toriel. He wondered if he knew her name by now?

"She said that... if I left the Ruins, king Asgore would kill me for my soul, so that monsterkind could return to the surface. She told me to stay with her instead. She could be my mother. I'd be safe there."

"but..."

Frisk had a feeling Sans knew what was the next part. He really didn't like it, but now that he had started, he was only moving forward.

"But I got scared. I... I felt out of place in the Underground; I wanted to return to the surface. At the Ruins, some monsters attacked me, and I...", Frisk felt his eyes starting to get misty. He knew there were tears forming on them. " _I killed them_. I thought it was self-defense, but only after I had killed a couple monsters I noticed they weren't really wanting to fight. I promised I wouldn't hurt another being in the Underground, but... well, that promise didn't last an hour."

Frisk clenched his fists – his hands felt cold. It was the first time he was talking about this, the reason for many of the nightmares he had after his big adventure.

"I asked Toriel about how I could return to the surface and she got really upset. She tried to change the subject, but when she noticed I wasn't dropping it, she attempted to destroy the Ruins' exit. That's when I attacked her."

Tears were now streaming down his face. He looked away, but he was sure the skeleton noticed. His voice was different because of it too. Sans didn't say a word, so Frisk couldn't tell how they were taking it.

"I never intended to kill her, but it didn't matter. I don't know how monsters souls work, but I think she was weakened due to her sadness because I rejected her. Sometimes... sometimes I still can feel... her dust on my hands."

He took deep breaths, trying not to sob.

"She... she loved me... like I was her very own child.", said Frisk, failing to keep from crying. "Sh-she offered me her everything, and I threw it all a-away. _What_ was I thinking? I didn't... didn't have anything or anybody on the surface. _Why_ didn't I stay?"

He looked at Sans, who had a sorrowful expression on their face.

"Sans... I...", Frisk didn't know what to say. "When I discovered she made you promise her you would protect me, I felt... the worst damn thing on Earth. She... she was your friend and... _god_ , you must hate me."

The human put his head in his hands, unable to continue telling his story. Silence fell between the two for a moment before Sans finally decided to speak up.

"nah, i never hated ya, frisk.", he said, and when Frisk looked at him he winked. "hate takes _effort_ , and i'm way too lazy for that, heh. but i did have a suspicion you had something to do with the queen's death, and i'm gonna be honest with you: i wasn't sure if you meant or not to kill her up until now. but now? now i believe in you, buddy. you seem to be suffering too much with this to just be pretending."

It was Frisk's turn to be silent.

"but you gotta remember..." continued Sans. "you gotta remember you didn't hurt a single other monster in the underground after that. yeah – i kept a watch on you, and you always got away from conflict without using violence. i'm not saying what you did to the queen should be forgotten, but hey, you tried to become a better person. and that's always an admirable thing."

Sans put his hand on Frisk's shoulder on a comforting manner. As much as the human appreciated the gesture, it didn't make him feel any better.

"what about the king? asgore?", asked Sans.

"I didn't kill Asgore.", answered Frisk, wiping a tear. "When I got to Asgore, I fought him. I almost killed him, and I knew I had to if I wanted to leave the Underground, but... I couldn't do it. I remembered Toriel. I couldn't kill him. Not like that. And then, that stupid flower showed up and killed him instead."

"that flower... of course.", said Sans, like he was realizing something.

"What?", said Frisk, surprised. "You believe me?"

"why wouldn't i?", said Sans, sounding surprised himself. "if you'd lie to me, you could have said the queen had tried to kill you, or that someone else had killed her. it would make more sense."

"I guess so.", Frisk thought the logic was sound. "But..."

"i... know that flower, frisk.", said Sans. "i know the things they are capable of. they are really, _really_ freaky."

Frisk frowned, wondering how Sans could possibly know that socipathic flower.

"Anyway...", he continued. "When they killed Asgore, they absorbed the six human souls and turned into this demonic plant-like monster. They tried to kill me, but I held onto my determination and... looking back now, I don't really remember how I defeated them. I... got help, but I can't recall from whom."

And he was being sincere. The memories from the fight against that freakish flower were all hazy, like it all was a dream – but Frisk now knew for a fact it was real. It had happened.

"I killed the flower.", said Frisk, simply. "And got out of the Underground."

They were silent for a moment, but it was no longer companionable – it was filled with sorrow and regret instead.

"i'm glad you opened up, buddy.", said Sans. "one day, i'll open up too."

"Thanks, Sans.", said Frisk. "For listening."

"don't mention it."

They sat in silence for a while longer, when Sans broke it once more.

"ki... frisk... do you believe in, like, alternate timelines?"

"You mean, like every time we make a decision another timeline is created for the alternative we didn't pick?", asked Frisk.

Sans seemed to be thinking a bit.

"eh, not exactly that, but close enough.", said the skeleton, scratching his chin. "anyways, i like to think there is a timeline where you freed all monsters from the underground. there was no war. just everybody happy and excited to see the surface."

Frisk thought about it. He didn't think it was really possible. How would he have been able to free all monsters from the Underground? He was just a child when he fell the hole at Mt. Ebott.

However, he decided to play along with it.

"That's really nice. I hope they are happy."

"i'm sure they are."


	5. Stripes

Frisk woke up to the filtered sunlight that passed through the leaves. It was a nice day; the sky was blue, and he could hear the birds singing – it would be the perfect day for a game of catch. Or camping. Unfortunately, reality was much more unforgiving.

He yawned and looked around. Sans and Papyrus weren't nearby. He imagined the shift would end with the taller skeleton, but the other one wasn't sleeping, which was strange. He wondered where they had gone.

Even with the circumstances, the human felt more lighthearted than he ever had in years. Maybe it was the brothers presence that made him feel better, or maybe it was his talk with Sans the night before. He couldn't tell, and honestly, it didn't matter.

"OH, THE HUMAN IS AWAKE!", said Papyrus. Frisk looked to his left and saw Papyrus coming to his direction, with a big smile on their face, Sans right behind them. They were both holding something.

"i told him your name, bud.", said Sans, winking. "he still thinks 'human' is a cool nickname, though."

Frisk looked to Papyrus, who in turn was beaming with expectation.

"Yeah, I think it's cool too.", said Frisk. Papyrus looked at Sans with an expression that translated to 'told you so', to which the shorter skeleton answered with a shrug. "Anyway, what you got?"

"WELL, WE ARE ALL HUNGRY! SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAD THE BRILLIANT IDEIA OF SEARCHING FOR FOOD IN THE NATURE!", said Papyrus, seemingly proud of himself. Then, he noticed Sans was looking at him with a smug, and gave a sigh. "AND MY BROTHER CAME ALONG TOO. HE HELPED. I GUESS."

"Wow. You could have called me to go too.", said Frisk, feeling a bit left out, though he appreciated the gesture. "But thanks, guys."

Frisk didn't realize how hungry he was. When was the last time he actually ate something?

"there wasn't much here, but we found some berries...", for some reason, Sans' grin grew wider as he told that. Frisk braced himself in expectation, while Papyrus tensed up.

"SANS, PLEASE..."

"well, i'm sorry...", teased Sans.

"SANS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS..."

"if they don't taste..."

"SANS..!"

"' _berry_ ' good."

"OH MY GOD, SANS, OF ALL YOUR PUNS, THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE FOR THE WORST ONE!"

Frisk could probably agree with Papyrus in that one – he himself was feeling his face getting red from embarassment.

"eh, i would rather it took this berry here.", said Sans, picking one and shoving it into his mouth. "c'mon, let's eat."

And so they did. The berries tasted... _peculiar_ , but Frisk was so hungry he didn't mind. He doubted they would satisfy him, but he had to eat something. Besides, Sans and Papyrus were doing more for him than they should, and Frisk wouldn't be ungrateful enough to complain.

"so, whatcha think?", asked Sans.

"They are alright.", said Frisk, swallowing a berry.

"they taste like crap."

"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW _THAT_ TASTES, SO THAT'S AN INVALID POINT!", said Papyrus, as eloquent as ever.

"who said i don't?"

"SANS, THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"How can you taste food, anyway?", asked Frisk. "I mean, you two don't have tongues."

To his surprise, both Sans and Papyrus seemed to be taken aback by the question, like they weren't sure of the answer themselves.

"UM..."

"i guess it's magic?"

"YES, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!"

"What? Seriously?", said Frisk, laughing at the situation. "C'mon, it's your body, how come you don't know how it works?"

"our... body?", said Sans, glancing a smug look to Frisk. "well, technically we have no body."

Some seconds passed before Sans noticed the way Papyrus was looking at him after he said that.

"papyrus! heheheh!", laughed Sans, and it sounded incredible genuine, even for him. "i swear that wasn't on purpose!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"c'mon pap, you need to be a little more 'humerous'."

"SANS, YOU ARE NOT HELPING YOUR CASE!"

After some more berries and laughs, Frisk felt like he was ready to what was ahead of him. Maybe that was hope, and he didn't want to let it go. They sat on the ground for a little longer, enjoying the atmosphere.

"So, where do we go now?", asked Frisk. They needed to plan a course of action.

"well, i say we go to the next town. we should be close enough to go there by foot, we just need to get to the highway again."

Frisk felt a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what to expect to see in the next town – but remembering the lack of movement on the highway the day before, he doubted things would be nice and normal.

"WHAT ARE WE DOING THERE?", asked Papyrus.

Sans was drawing small patterns on the ground, absentmindedly.

"we need resources, ya know, food and medicine. we should be able to find them there. that's our first step.", answered Sans. "unless you both plan on living off berries now?"

Papyrus' eye socket twitched a bit with that prospective – Frisk had no idea how that happened.

"OK, WE ARE GOING TO TOWN.", agreed the skeleton.

"we will need to be careful though.", said Sans. "undyne's guards might be there, and they will get all worked up if they see frisk."

"We need to watch out for humans, too.", said Frisk, pessimistically. "I mean, they are pretty shocked with the monsters attacking. When they see you, they might think you are intending to do harm or something. I'll do my best to convince them you are good, but... I don't know. Humans are a pretty nasty race. I'm sure you noticed."

In a sense, they weren't really safe from anybody but themselves.

"I THINK HUMANS ARE WONDERFUL!", said Papyrus, cheerfully. "JUST LOOK AT YOU, HUMAN! YOU ARE GREAT! NOT AS GREAT AS I AM, OF COURSE, BUT PRETTY GREAT! SO HUMANS MUST BE COOL!"

Frisk wanted to explain, but it would be hard. Besides, he didn't know if he was ready to break that illusion.

"alright, we will need to be discreet, avoid calling attention. i won't lie to you, this is gonna be dangerous.", said Sans, his voice abnormally serious. "you better watch out, i don't wanna anybody here hurt... or worse."

Something about they way the skeleton said that sent chills down Frisk's spine, but he didn't say anything.

"NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PROTECT YOU!", said Papyrus optimistically.

"i'm sure you will, bro.", said Sans, smiling again and his voice in the normal tone. "we should move now. y'know, enjoy this nice weather and all."

They stood up, and started to make their way out of the woods. Frisk felt something strange inside him – somehow, he was sure they would be alright through this.

He felt determined.

* * *

They walked closer to the woods than to the highway – that way, hiding would be easier if they spotted someone coming. Besides, the shadows from the trees protected them from the blazing sun that was shining that day. That heat wasn't normal for that time of year; Frisk reckoned there was still more than a month left for summer to actually start.

Sans lead the way, walking in front of the human and Papyrus. From time to time, the shorter skeleton would snap his fingers a couple times. Frisk thought they had a rhythm in their head, but when they gave a frustrated sigh, he knew they had been trying to summon magic. Apparently, Undyne's blockage was still on effect. Frisk wondered when it would wear out – _if_ it would wear out, that is.

He got worried by this. The brothers' magic was the only defense mechanism available, and it was practically cut by half now. Maybe even more: as talented as Papyrus was, the lack of intent to hurt could put them on disadvantage some time.

God, what was he _thinking_? Frisk slapped himself mentally for that thought. How could he blame Papyrus for being a pacifist by heart? What had he become?

"HUMAN, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU.", said Papyrus, suddenly.

Frisk was a bit distracted and was taken by surprise by the statement. He took some moments, thinking he had mistaken what they had said.

"Thank... me?"

"YES. FOR SANS, I MEAN.", the skeleton explained, giving Frisk a kind smile. "DURING THOSE LAST FEW YEARS IN THE UNDERGROUND, SANS GREW MORE AND MORE SERIOUS. THERE WERE DAYS HE WOULDN'T EVEN JOKE ANYMORE. I FEEL HE'S HAPPY NOW THAT WE FOUND YOU."

Frisk didn't know what to respond. He really liked Sans, but he wasn't sure if Sans was too fond of him. Sure, the skeleton had some respect for him – that much was obvious – but he didn't know if Sans could ever like him after what he did in the Underground. The human had the sneaking suspicion they only came to the rescue because Papyrus wanted to.

He could be wrong, for better or worse. Everything was an enigma around Sans – like a complicated puzzle he just couldn't solve.

Looking to Papyrus, he decided to play safe.

"I should be the one thanking you. I don't know if I'd have made this far without your help."

"OH, I WAS SIMPLY DOING MY OBLIGATION, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS THERE FOR THOSE IN NEED!", said Papyrus with confidence.

"hey, you two, can you see it?", Sans stopped and pointed ahead of him.

Frisk could see it indeed – the town they were heading for was already close. They had covered a good distance by car the day before. Looking from where they were, it looked normal – Frisk didn't have his hopes up, though.

"WOWIE! WE ARE GETTING THERE!", stated Papyrus.

"Yeah...", said Frisk. "We should be more careful."

"alright... no matter what happens, we stick together. got it?", said Sans, looking at the two.

Frisk and Papyrus nodded in agreement.

"let's go then. oh, and one more thing.", said Sans, turning around and leading the way once again. "pap, if you are gonna talk about me, please don't do it so loud."

* * *

The city looked normal at a distance, but as they got closer, Frisk could see the marks that indicated war had already passed through. Bits of dust were scattered around the asphalt, along with spots of blood. Destroyed buildings and houses and places marked by gunshots completed the scenario of utter destruction. It looked like hell itself had opened a portal to town.

It was quiet. Really quiet. Frisk's attention was on the double. The trio's footsteps echoed through the streets.

"I DON'T SEE ANYBODY!", said Papyrus.

"yep, but there could be soldiers hiding. pap, i'm gonna ask you to speak in lower tone here.", said Sans.

"SANS, YOU KNOW I CAN'T CONTROL MY VOICE PITCH!"

"so don't speak at all!", said Sans, way more rude than he intended. Papyrus looked hurt.

Sans had this tense look. He was watching the windows on the buildings, trying to spot someone. Frisk did the same.

"pap... sorry. i forgot.", said Sans, regretting the way he had just spoken to his brother. "it's just, if someone listens you, they..."

 _BANG_!

Frisk barely had time to scream for them to get down when he heard the shot. Someone at a high window was shooting at them, and they weren't sparing any ammunition.

They crawled desperately behind a large garbage container. It wouldn't protect them from gunfire, but they couldn't stay on the middle of the street, either.

"that a human?", asked Sans as another gunshot was heard. It hit the ground near them.

"I-I think so. They are fighting... fighting with firearms.", answered Frisk, trying not to panic. Memories from two nights before were surfacing in his mind. The smell of fresh blood and the noises from hazardous magic were still vivid in his head.

 _BANG_!

Another shot, and that one pierced the container a few inches above Sans' head.

"dammit, we can't stay in the open!", said the skeleton, looking around. "there!"

He pointed at a wrecked store on the other side of the street.

"papyrus, can you summon a protective barrier from here to there?"

Normally, Frisk would expect Papyrus to boast about how easy that was for someone as talented and great as them, but given the gravity of the situation, they simply nodded and raised their arm, summoning a wall of blue bones high enough for them to cross to the other side.

Ducking, they all rapidly moved alongside it. The blue bones were a smart trick – as it damaged moving things, it caused the bullets to disintegrate upon contact.

When they entered the store, Papyrus flicked his wrist, causing the wall of bones to shatter.

"pap, you really _are_ the greatest.", said Sans, punching his brother in the arm in a playful way.

Papyrus seemed to cheer up with the compliment.

"NYEH HEH HEH! IT WAS NOTHING FOR SOMEONE AS TALENTED AND GREAT AS ME!"

"ok... so what have we got here?", said Sans, focusing his attention on the place they had just entered.

It was all destroyed. Glass was shattered on the floor, and shelves were completely broken down. There were dark spots on the walls, which Frisk figured were due to magic attacks. He spotted some products here and there, and from what they were, the human deduced they were in...

"A drug store.", he said.

Sans clapped his hands.

"perfect. let's see if we can find some painkillers. maybe some gauze and antiseptic while we're at it. these are most important."

Both he and Frisk started to look at the products left. There weren't many, so he figured the place had already been looted by others, probably during the previous day. Frisk picked a bottle of painkillers from the floor.

Meanwhile, Papyrus stood frozen in his spot.

"UM...", he said.

"what's up bro?", said Sans, picking up a bottle and throwing it away when he saw it was empty. He looked at his brother's hesitant expression and his face fell a little. "is it because what i said before?"

"WHAT? NO, NO! YOU WERE RIGHT! IT'S JUST... WELL, THERE'S NO ONE HERE! WE CAN'T BUY THESE THINGS!"

Frisk stopped what he was doing. He was with his back turned to the skeletons, and didn't bother to turn around. Yet another uncomfortable silence fell upon them – it seemed the human had been dealing with a lot of these recently.

"bro...", said Sans, his voice filled with a sadness Frisk never heard before. "we are just... taking it."

"BUT WHAT IF THE OWNER OF THE STORE COMES BACK?"

Papyrus' innocence was admirable. He managed to stay faithful to his principles even on these poor conditions, which was by itself a virtue.

"i don't think they are.", responded Sans. "listen, we need these things. i think the owner would have wanted to help survivors like us."

Papyrus looked to the side, unsure.

"I... DON'T KNOW IF I LIKE THIS."

"bro... i don't like it either, but...", Sans seemed to be in conflict. "if you don't want us to take these things, we won't, ok? we'll find another way."

Frisk wanted to object, but didn't want to say something he would regret later. He decided to trust Sans: they would find a way.

"N... NO. YOU CAN TAKE THEM. I UNDERSTAND.", said Papyrus, finally. "IT'S JUST... I WON'T PICK ANYTHING UP, OKAY? I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND."

"yes, sure thing, bro.", said Sans, his voice sounding with relief. "thanks."

With that, he and Frisk resumed searching for things that would be useful, while Papyrus sat by a chair near the counter. Some minutes later, after they had looked around every corner, they reunited.

"found anything good, buddo?", asked Sans.

"Just this bottle of painkillers.", said Frisk, showing it.

"welp, i found some gauze.", said Sans in return. "and some bandages. i mean, it's not gonna help with great wounds, but i see you are scratched and bruised all over, so taking it won't hurt, will it? didn't find antiseptic though, and we are gonna need it if you get a wound that might get you an infection. fortunately, skeletons are free from this kind of problem."

Frisk hadn't thought about that – it was very considerate of Sans to know about it.

"I'll be careful, then.", said Frisk.

"i don't know if i can trust you.", stated Sans, serious. Frisk looked confused before the skeleton started grinning again. "you can't say 'frisk' without 'risk', after all."

Frisk's face scrunched up automatically after that one. Papyrus was a lot less subtle.

"SANS, I REFUSE TO ACCEPT YOU AS MY BROTHER!"

"heh, sorry.", said Sans, chuckling. "i couldn't let the opportunity go to waste. c'mon, let's get out. there is a backdoor in here, and it leads to an alleyway. we can dismiss whoever was attacking us."

Putting what they had found in Sans' pockets, they headed out from the drug store and walked silently through the alleyway. When they reached the street, they didn't walk in immediately. Keeping their backs against the wall, the trio listened to any source of noise that could indicate danger, but couldn't hear anything, just the deadly silence of a lost city.

Frisk peeked from the corner, trying to spot signs of humans or monsters. He figured it was very possible that humans had built a resistance group there, and that meant monsters could attack too. He couldn't shake the feeling they just happened to arrive during the calm between storms.

"see anything?", asked Sans.

"No. I think it's safe.", answered Frisk. "Where are we going anyway?"

"somewhere we can get food. like a market or something like that."

"Alright. Just to be safe, walk close to the shops. If anything happens, we enter."

Sans and Papyrus nodded. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Frisk stepped on the street, and the two followed him.

They were in a commercial zone of the city. There were all sorts of small shops there, and each and every one of them was destroyed. It was hard to believe that, only two days before, that part of town was probably buzzing with people shopping.

Frisk saw a clothes store and looked down to his shirt. It was still stained with Mrs. Magda's blood, now dried permanently against the fabric. He had almost forgotten it, but looking at the stain reactivated the memory – the horrified face she made when she was hit, the smell of blood, the feeling of hopelessness...

 _BANG_!

Suddenly, there was a loud noise of gunshot, and the three stopped dead on their tracks. Frisk's instinct was telling him to run inside somewhere, but as more gunshots were heard, he noticed they were coming from another street.

Only there was also another noise joining them this time – some sort of buzz. The human was too familiar now with the sound of magic being fired to mistake it. They reached the corner of the street and peeked in, trying to get an idea what was going on.

The battle was happening a few streets away. Frisk spotted some humans wielding firearms, shooting at something he couldn't see. That "something" was fighting back launching magic attacks that glowed a hazardous purple.

"hey, look.", Sans tapped Frisk's shoulder and pointed at a department store in the other direction. "ya think we can find food there?"

"Maybe.", said Frisk. "It's worth a shot."

"then let's go. while they are busy."

Sans ran to the other side, and Papyrus followed him closely. Frisk looked at the battle once again – the participants were, indeed, too busy to notice anything, or even bother with it. He followed the skeletons and entered the department store. The other two looked at him when he entered.

"this looks more promising.", said Sans.

Frisk looked around. In the very least, the place was huge. They were behind a line of cash desks, and after them, lines and lines of shelves were at display. There had to be something they could take there.

"ok, let's find some food and search for other things that might be useful.", said Sans. "frisk, you and i will loot the place. pap, you keep an eye out for movement outside, ok? just shout if anything happens."

"OKAY, LEAVE IT TO ME! I'LL SHOUT AS BEST AS I CAN!", said a determined Papyrus.

"Cool.", said Frisk. "Let's go."

Accompanied by the noise of gunshots and magic outside, he and Sans split up and started searching the store. A lot of the products had already been taken, but there were still a fair amount left. Frisk picked up some chocolate bars and beef jerky and stuffed it in his pockets – a good start, he had to admit.

Later, he found a razor. It remembered him the box he used to keep under his bed at the orphanage, and he picked it up. The razor was new, and he found himself fumbling his hair with his other hand. He always liked it long and messy, but an idea was beginning to form in his mind. He held onto it.

As he passed through the shelves, he picked up anything that he found it could be useful – a lighter, a flashlight, a water bottle... soon, his pockets were full and he couldn't carry anything else.

He didn't know how he came across the fashion segment of the store. Normally, he'd pass by it without paying attention, but something caught his eye: a t-shirt, his size, with purple and blue stripes.

Huh, it had been some time since he wore one of these. They were always fashionable, weren't they?

Just as he finished exchanging his dirty and bloody shirt for the new one, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"feeling nostalgic, bud?"

Frisk turned around. Sans was there, grinning as usual, leaning against a shelf.

"You know I'm not.", answered the human. "Have you found anything?"

"yep. some food bars and water bottles.", said Sans, shrugging. "oh, and these."

He turned his back at him to show three black, empty backpacks he was wearing.

"Wow, these are great!", said Frisk, walking to Sans and picking one up. "But... you know Papyrus won't accept it, right?"

"eh.", simply said Sans. "if i insist long enough, he'll give in. c'mon, let's go back."

Frisk opened the backpack and stuffed the things he picked up in, before wearing it and joining Sans on their way back. He was really happy with the results of their looting, and was thinking on a way to convince Papyrus he wasn't a terrible person for it when he noticed he had kept walking while Sans stood behind, looking at something.

Frisk turned around. The skeleton was holding a bottle of rum in his hands, looking at the label.

"we can use this as antiseptic.", said Sans, showing the bottle to Frisk before putting it in his backpack.

"What? Rum? Really?", asked Frisk, skeptical.

"hey, pirates would use it all the time.", said Sans. How he knew so much about human history, Frisk had no idea. "it's not the best thing there is, but it might just do."

He wasn't entirely convinced, but in the lack of something better, he decided to trust the skeleton.

"just... don't tell papyrus, 'kay?", he stated, looking Frisk in the eye. "he might... take it in the wrong way."

He was smiling when he said that, but Frisk could see something behind it – shame, perhaps? He felt curious, but had the feeling that was part of the "story for another time", so he let the subject drop.

The human and the skeleton walked silently to the entrance of the department store, not exchanging another word in the way. As they approached it, they spotted Papyrus walking back and forth in a straight line in front of the door, in a strong resemblance to a cartoon soldier Frisk had a faint memory of watching on television as a kid. Actually, a lot in Papyrus' personality reminded him of cartoon characters.

"OH, THERE YOU ARE!", said Papyrus upon seeing the other two. "AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE GUARDED THE ENTRANCE! NO ONE CAME THROUGH!"

"heh, couldn't expect anything less thing from the great papyrus.", said Sans.

"OF COURSE NOT! NYEH HEH HEH!", stated Papyrus proudly, before noticing Frisk was wearing one backpack, while Sans was wearing two. "SANS... WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN THREE BACKPACKS? IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO USE IT, FORGET IT!"

"wasn't going to, bro. but, ya know, if you change your mind..."

"SANS, YOU KNOW I WON'T!"

"... _ever_ so slightly...", continued Sans as if his brother had said nothing. "i'll be keeping it, 'kay?"

Papyrus sighed, and his eye sockets made a movement that could be interpreted as eye rolling, but it was hard to tell. Meanwhile, the human looked through the glass door. The battle outside seemed to have stopped, and the city was silent once more.

"We got what we needed here.", said Frisk, turning to face the two skeletons. "Where do we go now?"

He looked at Sans. For some reason, he was always expecting them to come up with some sort of direction. Papyrus looked at his brother, and Frisk knew he expected the same.

The shorter skeleton noticed the attention on him, but tried to play it cool.

"welp, it's obvious undyne's forces are a step ahead of us, geographically speaking. resting in the woods was a smart move.", said Sans. "now, we have to be really careful with what we do next. we can't be found by undyne, but we can't lose her either."

Frisk started to feel nervous, and clenched his fists. He knew exactly what Sans meant, and didn't like it. But he couldn't run away: these were _his_ mistakes, and he was going to face the consequences.

"I agree.", said Frisk. "We should keep going, then. Undyne is only moving forward. If we had a map of sorts..."

Sans winked at the human before unzipping his backpack and pulling a big map of the region. He laid it on the floor, and the three sat around it.

"so, now we are here.", said Sans, pointing at the map. "the next town is there.", he pointed to another place at the map. "from my calculations, undyne has already reached 'there', which means we have to move as soon as possible."

"We can't take her on now.", pointed Frisk. "I mean, we are not prepared, and I wouldn't be much help, to be honest."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HUMAN?", said Papyrus. "YOU ALWAYS GO SO WELL WITH THESE THINGS! I'M SURE WE CAN REASON WITH UNDYNE!"

Frisk felt his face fall, and tried to conceal it. Papyrus would believe there was another way until the very last second. Actually, they would believe it far past the clock had ticked out.

The human was sure Sans knew that _fighting_ was the only means to stop Undyne's war on humanity. Why were the two so different from each other?

Before he could dwell on the matter for much longer, he caught something moving from the corner of his eye, and he instinctively stood up. Sans did it too, tensed up. Papyrus didn't seem to notice anything, and looked confused to the other two.

"you saw it too, right?", said Sans, his voice dangerously calm.

Frisk nodded.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?", joined Papyrus. "SEE WHAT?"

"as great as you are, bro...", said Sans, his pupils rapidly scanning the room. "i think someone might have passed your watch on the door."

Papyrus seemed to take that as a personal offense.

"ARE YOU... ARE YOU... IMPLYING I...", the taller skeleton was at loss for words. " _SLEPT_ DURING MY JOB!?

" _what_? no!", said Sans, still trying to find indications of suspicious activity around them. "i mean that..."

There was a noise of a can rolling on the ground, and the trio looked in the direction it came from.

Someone was there.

The figure was obscured by shadows, and for a moment it seemed almost unsure of what to do now that it had been caught, but it quickly recomposed, stepping onto the light. Frisk opened his mouth in surprise.

"Human!", said the monster kid. "You are under arrest as prisoner of war, and will be taken to Undyne. Surrender now, or there will be consequences!"


	6. Necessary Tension

In a certain way, it was funny. Most people would be amused if they met an acquaintance after a long time. Maybe they wouldn't talk much, but they would certainly acknowledge each other. If they were friendly, a good, lighthearted conversation was a real possibility.

Nobody expects death threats in these situations.

Frisk opened his mouth, but closed it again. What was he going to say? What could he say to get him out of it? He feared for the worst: the time had come. The time to fight.

"sorry, kiddo.", said Sans, cautiously. "i don't think the human is suicidal enough to just deliver themselves like that."

Frisk looked at the skeleton brothers. Sans' posture was a relaxed one, but Frisk knew they were ready to either fight or run away, if necessary. Papyrus looked in confusion from Sans to Frisk, and from Frisk to the monster kid.

The reptilian monster's face twitched a bit with the shorter skeleton's response, and once again Frisk saw a hint of insecurity in their portrayal.

"Well, don't play smart with me!", they responded, recomposing. "I know who you are! You are the traitors who were helping the human! You are coming along!"

Their voice was raspy, but clearly masculine, and Frisk concluded they were male. It was never clear to him when they were a child due to their high-pitched voice.

The monster tried to look angry, and it was a look that didn't quite fell together on his face.

"oh, that's an interesting offer, let me think about it.", said Sans. "ummm... nope. not interested. but if you offer some ketchup i might reconsider it."

Frisk was having a hard time believing that he was facing the same monster he had once shared an umbrella with. The same monster who'd trip and fall all the time due to clumsiness, increased by the lack of arms. The same monster that defended him from Undyne, and now was fighting for her. That was the same monster who killed a human in front of him, and now was threatening him. He should feel angry, didn't he? After all, that was the monster who took Mrs. Magda life away like it didn't matter. Maybe Undyne was the one who commanded that, but it was them who did the dirty work.

And still...

Something inside Frisk told him there was something _off_ with that whole story. He had the urge to speak. Say Anything. He could do it – he could appeal to their good side.

"You don't have to do this.", said the human.

"Sorry, but that wasn't a question.", said the yellow monster. "It was an order! This is your last chance before I use force!"

Frisk's mind was racing. He was afraid he'd say something wrong and trigger combat, and that was the last thing he wanted. He could almost feel his determination deflating – and it was pathetic.

"CHILD...", finally said Papyrus, his voice loud, but calm.

"I'm not a child!", monster kid replied, fiercely. "I'm a soldier! Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"OK, OK! SORRY, SIR!", quickly corrected Papyrus. "BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO FIGHT! WE CAN SORT THIS OUT!"

"Oh yeah, we can. You surrender and nobody gets hurt. That's your deal!"

"PLEASE, CH... SIR, HEAR ME OUT!", continued Papyrus, a hint of desperation in his voice. "UNDYNE IS NOT... USING HER BEST JUDGEMENT LATELY. THE HUMAN DOESN'T DESERVE THAT."

The reptilian monster stomped on the ground when he heard this.

"He _doesn't_ deserve!? Do you know... know what he did? He killed our king... and our queen... tried to leave us leaderless to destabilize us... but it turned out wrong, huh?"

They faced Frisk once again, looking him in the eye. Frisk saw it. That look... something was not right with it. It didn't fit quite well to someone who was trying to be bold and fierce.

"I KNOW... HE MADE MISTAKES, BUT... HE'S TRYING TO BE BETTER!", said Papyrus, slowly walking forward, towards the yellow monster. "I KNOW HE IS, AND HE IS DOING SO GREAT! I BELIEVE YOU CAN DO GREAT TOO! SIR!"

"pap...", said Sans when he noticed his brother was walking. He had been dangerously quiet for the last few moments.

"I don't need your pity!", replied the monster kid. "And you better stay where you are!"

"I JUST WANT TO TALK! I'M NOT GOING TO HARM YOU! SIR!", said Papyrus, ignoring the warning.

"I don't care! Stay w-where you are! Now!", replied the other, and Frisk caught that hint of insecurity yet once more, this time on his voice.

"I'M HERE TO LISTEN TO YOU, TOO!", Papyrus forced a big confident smile, still walking forward. "I CAN HELP YOU! TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED! NOW, WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?"

That seemed to be the last straw needed for the monster kid to lose control.

" _Don't_ talk about my parents!", screamed the monster, summoning a orange glowing spear, which flew towards Papyrus.

Fortunately, the skeleton had quick reflexes and ducked to the ground just before it hit. The spear hit a shelf of the store, causing it to fall down with a loud noise.

Frisk looked from the fallen shelf to the monster. They seemed surprised by their own attack – a reaction that made the human confused.

" _you dirty little killer._ ", suddenly said Sans.

Frisk looked to the shorter brother. Their pupils had disappeared, giving them a menacing look. It made Frisk's stomach turn.

"you just tried to kill my brother, didn't ya?", said Sans, walking towards the yellow monster decisively. They, in turn, seemed to be in shock by that reaction, and couldn't answer.

There was something about Sans that was making Frisk feel more nervous than the presence of the monster kid. He wanted to say something, but his voice was stuck in his throat.

"kid...", continued Sans. " _you're gonna have a bad time_."

With that, the skeleton raised his arm and cast a blue magic spell to the reptilian monster. They were taken by surprise, and didn't have time to dodge. Sans then threw his arm to his left, and the other monster was sent flying in that direction, to the back of the store. Frisk heard a sickening thud, and knew they had hit the wall with force.

"SANS..!", screamed Papyrus.

But he was gone. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared right in front of them.

What a convenient time for Undyne's blockage to wear out.

Frisk was frozen in place, trying to piece together what had just happened when he heard noises of magic being cast and hitting objects in crossfire at the back of the store. He snapped out of it and ran to Papyrus, who was still sitting on the floor, with a look of disbelief on their face.

"SANS... HE..."

"Papyrus, we need to go!", said Frisk, offering his hand to the skeleton, who simply looked at him in confusion. "We need to stop Sans!"

And that was enough. Papyrus grabbed his hand and pulled themselves up. Together, they ran to the back of the store.

By the time they reached the clothes segment, where the struggle was taking place, a lot of damage had already been done. Broken shelves, glass, mannequins, among other things, were spread across the floor. Sans was cornering monster kid, sending waves of sharp bones to them. They barely had time to escape and couldn't counterattack.

"SANS! STOP THAT!", yelled Papyrus.

The shorter brother didn't listen, and instead summoned more bones to attack. Somehow, the reptilian monster managed to escape and attempted to hide behind a counter, but Sans cast his blue magic again, throwing them in full force to the opposite wall. They fell limp, and Frisk worried they had been killed, but they quickly used their legs to stand up again, with a horrified look in their eyes.

Sans turned around and started walking towards them. Frisk noticed his left eye had that eerie, blue glow again. He stopped a few feet from the other monster, who was frozen in place. They were shaking.

The skeleton snapped his fingers, and a bright, white light started to form above his head. Initially, it looked like bones making some sort of formation, but then Frisk noticed, with his heart failing a beat, that it was no ordinary formation.

It was a _skull_. A primal fear started to increase within the human, and he didn't know why.

"SANS, NO!", screamed Papyrus.

"DON'T YOU STAY THERE, RUN!", yelled Frisk, his voice somehow louder than Papyrus'.

That seemed to make the monster kid snap out and run, just before a white, light-focused beam was discharged from the skull's mouth. It pulverized the floor where it hit.

Frisk didn't know why he had yelled to the yellow monster to run. They had killed someone in front of his eyes. They had tried to capture him.

 _Or had they_?

Something definitely wasn't right.

Sans summoned more of those skulls, each of them discharging the same powerful beam, each of them missing by inches. The skeleton started using bone attacks with the beams, and Frisk knew that monster kid couldn't keep up with that forever.

Suddenly, a well-placed bone made the monster trip and fall to the ground. Sans summoned another skull in front of them, and it started to load its attack. Monster kid just managed to turn to face the attack, utter terror marked in every line of them.

And suddenly, Frisk recognized what was wrong.

"HUMAN, WHAT THE..!", said Papyrus as Frisk ran to the other two monsters direction. "NO!"

But he didn't listen.

Six years before, the then monster kid defended him from Undyne, even though they admired her deeply. It was Frisk's turn to do the same.

"frisk.", said Sans as the human put himself between the yellow monster and the skull, now with a totally charged attack, ready to fire. "get out of there. now."

It was hard to see with the bright light right on his face, but he spotted Sans stopping by the skull, their eye still glowing. Frisk thought his legs were turning into jelly, but he stood in his place and shook his head.

"frisk.", continued Sans, his voice abnormally dangerous. "they are going to kill you."

Whatever was caught in Frisk's throat was now gone. It had burned inside him, filling him with determination.

"Kill _me_!?", he said, his voice full of anger. "What the hell is wrong with you, Sans!? Look at his face, he's terrified!"

"he better be. he's a coward. cowards fear death."

"He hasn't attacked since you started this.", replied Frisk, his voice now in a normal tone. "Please. Everybody is okay. There is no need to dirty your hands with dust."

Sans made a noise that Frisk interpreted as a dry laugh.

"my hands are already dirty with blood. dust will just add to the mix.", said Sans, darkly.

"Then you know how bad it feels, right?", continued the human. "You don't want this. I don't want this, too."

"SANS...", said Papyrus, reaching his brother and touching their shoulder. "LET THEM GO."

A few moments passed with no one saying anything, Frisk still standing between the charged skull and the monster kid. Then, the eerie glow vanished from Sans' eye, and his pupils reappeared. He had a blank expression. The skull's bright light started to fade, until the skull itself dissolved.

Frisk sighed with relief, putting his hand on his heart, his heartbeats high. He turned to face the yellow monster. They had their mouth opened, and looked to the human with a confused expression.

"THANKS, SANS.", said Papyrus, his voice trembling a bit. "I KNEW... I KNEW YOU'D DO THE RIGHT THING."

Sans made an uninterested mumble and shoved his hands back into his pockets.

"Sans...", said Frisk, looking at them, but the skeleton made a sign for him to stop talking.

"don't.", he had a serious expression that didn't quite fit. "i don't care. you deal with him now. i'll be waiting by the entrance."

With a snap of his fingers, Sans teleported away. Frisk looked at Papyrus, who seemed to be just as confused. The monster kid was now standing up, his armor severely damaged due to the recent battle.

"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?", asked Papyrus, trying to sound cool but failing. Tension was still high in the air.

"I don't know.", said Frisk, looking at the monster kid. "If we let you go, will you tell Undyne about us?"

The reptilian monster looked the other way, avoiding eye contact. Normally, that would be interpreted as someone trying to avoid the question, but to Frisk it seemed that it was more because they were embarrassed than anything.

"WHAT IF WE KEEP THEM?", suggested Papyrus. "AT LEAST FOR A WHILE?"

"Sans is not gonna like this.", said Frisk, worried by how the shorter skeleton would take that. "But... it makes sense. I don't trust them to wander on their own out there."

"Oh, you are taking me as a prisoner, then?", finally said the yellow monster, sounding defeated.

"DON'T THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THAT!", replied Papyrus. "WE'LL BE NICE TO YOU! WELL, EXCEPT SANS. HE'S GOING TO BE NASTY! BUT WE WILL TRY TO CONVINCE HIM TO BE NICE, TOO!"

Frisk thought about telling Papyrus they weren't making things seem good at all, but decided that wouldn't help anything.

"I guess there is not much you can do right now.", said Frisk to the monster kid. "You will come with us, but if you try to do anything... let's say we won't defend you from Sans again."

"I...", started Papyrus, but Frisk gave them a quick warning glance for them to choose their words wisely. "I AGREE.", he said, instead. Good.

"Let's go then.", said the human. "I'll do the talking. Papyrus, you watch them so they don't run away."

* * *

When they exited the department store, the sky was painted with tones of orange, giving the wrecked city an apocaliptic look. It was rather beautiful, in an unsettling way.

They decided it wouldn't be wise to wander through the city in the dark, so they searched for a house or building they could stay for the night. Their anxiety was flourishing, not only because of the threat of humans or monsters attacking, but also due to the recent events. Sans and Frisk lead the way, with Papyrus watching the monster kid over.

Eventually, they found an abandoned house in a suburban area. It had been hit by the crossfire of the war, but it was in nicest conditions than most houses they had passed by. Opening the front door, the four entered the residence, and stood by the entrance hall.

Frisk knew someone had lived in that house until recently, so the place was still looking somewhat livable, despite the broken shelves and the stuff that fell on the floor, probably during the heat of the war. From the hall, Frisk could see glances of the living room and the kitchen. The size of the dining table made him conclude they were inside what was once a family house.

"Do you think there is anyone here?", whispered Frisk.

"dunno.", said Sans. "we gotta check. pap and undyne's brat stay here, you and i split up and search for anything suspicious. i'll take this floor, you go upstairs."

Frisk didn't like the idea of searching for potential threat alone, but wouldn't complain. Besides, it was the first time Sans said anything after they left the department store.

The human was right: Sans didn't like the idea of bringing the monster kid along at all. After some persuasion from both him and Papyrus (" _YOU GOTTA GIVE HIM A SECOND CHANCE, SANS! YOU GOTTA!_ "), the skeleton let them do it. Nevertheless, Frisk had the impression Sans was giving him the silent treatment ever since. Not only that, but they were also abnormally serious, not even holding that characteristic grin they had almost all the time.

With those thoughts in mind, he climbed upstairs on the tip of his toes, taking care not to make much noise. The place was quiet, but someone could be hiding as well. Every time he opened a door, a closet, or looked under a bed, his heart raced.

In the end, there wasn't much to look at – just three bedrooms and a bathroom. He found some photos in the bedrooms, and learned that house was once home for a family of four – they looked happy. Frisk wondered if they were alright, if they had escaped. He thought about how the kids probably felt when they saw monsters attacking everybody.

Somehow, it reminded him of the kids from his orphanage. He could only hope they were okay.

He climbed back downstairs, and found Sans waiting for him at the bottom of it.

"All clear.", he said.

"same.", the other replied. "we can spend the night here."

"WOWIE!", said Papyrus, cheerfully. "THAT'S GREAT!"

"yeah, but we gotta take care of some stuff first.", said Sans. "frisk, how many rooms are there upstairs?"

"Three bedrooms and a bathroom.", answered the human, a bit surprised by the question. "Why?"

"we need a place to... y'know... secure 'him'.", he indicated the yellow monster with a small motion with his head, not looking at them.

Reality hit Frisk, and he struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

"Oh. Right", he said, clearing his throat. "You, come here.", he completed, directed to the monster kid, who in turn simply nodded and accompanied the group as they climbed upstairs again.

They indicated to monster kid enter the smallest bedroom – a young child bedroom – and as soon as they did, Sans raised barriers of blue bones, blocking the door and the windows. The bones were placed in a bar-like fashion, simulating the type of bars used in prisons. It made Frisk feel bad, but he knew it had to be done.

"DON'T WORRY!", said Papyrus, smiling through the bars to the monster who was now trapped. "WE'LL GIVE YOU FOOD!"

"not mine.", mumbled Sans, going downstairs.

"NOT SANS'! BUT THE HUMAN AND I WILL SHARE SOME WITH YOU!"

"We can't eat much as our food is limited.", explained Frisk. "We'll look around the house and see if we find anything, but even then we have to ration."

The yellow monster simply nodded again, then turned around and sat on the bed, looking at their surroundings. With that, Frisk and Papyrus both went downstairs to join Sans.

They found some crackers and, to their surprise, fresh fruit in the house, and decided to eat them there. Frisk shared some with monster kid, leaving a package of crackers through the bars. He was laying on the bed, and the human couldn't tell if he was sleeping or merely relaxing.

Over the dining table, the trio decided to keep their original plan: they'd get out of town and proceed to the next one, following Undyne's track. They'd also decide what to do with their new "prisoner" by morning. Not much was said afterwards, with each of them basically eating their rations for the day silently.

Now, that silence was by far the most uncomfortable one.

As the night continued, and Papyrus started yawning, they concluded it was time to turn in. Sans would start the shift that time around, and he'd keep watch on the first floor. Both the taller skeleton and Frisk then returned to the upper floor. The human took the other child's bedroom, while Papyrus took the parents bedroom.

Frisk lost count of the time. That night, he was laying down on the most comfortable bed he had already been in his entire life, yet he couldn't sleep. He shifted sides, trying to settle down and fall asleep, but his head was too busy to let that happen. After what seemed an eternity, he gave up and sat by the side of the bed, an idea forming in his head. He grabbed a flashlight and exited to the corridor.

He couldn't turn the lights of the house on – firstly, he didn't know if they worked. Secondly, it could attract unwanted attention from outside, and that was the last thing they needed.

He stood in front of the barrier of bones, looking into the room the monster kid was in. They were laying down in the bed, moonlight shining on them since the window was open. The bones by the windows cast vertical shadows through the room – it really did seem like a prison.

The human kept watching through the bars during some time, unsure of what to do. He then saw them shift sides a couple times.

"You awake?", asked Frisk hesitantly, his voice in a soft tone.

The yellow monster stopped shifting. Then, he sat on the bed and looked at Frisk, blinking a couple times.

"What do you want?", he asked.

"Just talk."

The monster sighed, and stood up, walking to face Frisk through the bone barrier. He had dropped his armor off, revealing he used some sort of fabric wrapped around his body. It was orange, with some black details. Around his neck region (which was hard to tell, since he had no shoulders or arms), the human noticed a necklace, with a small pendant which contained a vial with some kind of orange powder.

"I'm impressed you haven't tried to run away yet.", commented Frisk.

"Are you crazy?", the monster replied. "I'm not doing that. Not with... _him_ on the shift, anyway."

Frisk knew that they wouldn't forget about Sans so easily after the episode on the department store, and sincerely, he couldn't blame them. It had been a scary experience even to him – he couldn't imagine what it felt like to be the target of the skeleton's rage.

 _Or could he_? Something was sprouting on the back of his mind. He had the feeling he had made Sans really, really angry sometime in the past, but couldn't remember when exactly. That was odd.

"Um... you okay?", asked the reptilian monster, noticing the human's silence. "Dude?"

That took Frisk back to reality. Hearing them say something they used to say all the time made the human hope maybe not everything had changed over those six years.

"Yeah, I just... spaced out a bit.", he said. The monster just looked at him, waiting for something more to be said. "Don't worry about Sans, okay? He has this kinda... closed personality, and he can be really scary sometimes, but I know he has the heart in the right place. If he attacked you... it was because he was trying to protect his brother."

He just kept staring at Frisk, a look of disbelief in his face that the human could see even with the pale moonlight being the only lightsource of the room.

"Look... just give him another chance okay?", continued Frisk. "He's good. I know you're good, too."

The monster gave a shy smile after hearing this, but their eyes told him they didn't believe what he was saying.

"Frisk, right?", said the monster. "Man, I killed..."

"I know.", interrupted Frisk. "Me too. And my kills brought doom to both humans and monsters. I'm not innocent in this. I can't start all over again, but I'm trying to fix it where I can. I'm trying to do better. You can do it too."

The yellow monster sighed. They weren't entirelly convinced, but Frisk thought that hearing that would make them feel better, eventually.

"So, I don't really know your name.", he said. "I always called you 'monster kid' in my head. What's your name?"

They made a strange noise. Was it a chuckle? It sounded genuine, at least.

"'Monster Kid'.", they replied.

"I know it's stupid.", said Frisk, a bit embarassed. "I was a kid too, what did you expect?"

"No, not that! My name is, literally, 'Monster Kid'. My first name is 'Monster' and my last name is 'Kid'."

Frisk didn't mean to, but he couldn't avoid bursting into laughter. He had to try to muffle it when he heard Papyrus mumble something about forgetting the spaghetti in the microwave.

"It's not funny!", they said, but they were laughing too. "A-anyway, I prefer people to just call me 'MK', nowadays. Blame my parents for choosing such a stupid name."

"Where are your parents?", asked Frisk as soon as his laughter died.

Suddenly, MK's expression turned darker. Frisk regretted making that question – he already knew the answer.

"They died.", they simply said. "As soon as the barrier broke down and we invaded the nearest city. They never found the remains of my dad, but they did find mom's dust. They gave me this."

They indicated the pendant on their necklace. So that wasn't any ordinary orange powder – it was their mother's dust. Frisk thought it was a bit weird to carry the remains of your relatives around, but he guessed that was probably because of culture shock.

"And by 'they', you mean..."

"A couple of Royal Guard's soldiers. Greater Dog. Lesser Dog. Dogami, Dogaressa." replied MK. "I'm sure you remember them. Dogami and Dogaressa died shortly after."

Frisk felt something sick on his stomach. Of course he remembered.

How many more had to die because of his stupid mistakes?

"Sorry.", they said. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"No, that's alright.", said Frisk. "Uh, I'm an orphan too."

"What happened to your folks?", they asked.

"Never knew my dad. My mother died when I was really young. I was raised at this crappy orphanage.", answered the human.

"I'm sorry to hear that, man."

"I'm sorry about your parents, too."

They stood there, not exchanging another word. That time, however, the silence was more companionable, and Frisk appreciatted it.

Then, they heard someone climbing the stairs. MK tensed up, knowing who it was. Frisk merely turned around. Sans stopped at the top, glancing at Frisk and then at the imprisoned monster.

"oh, so that chit-chat came from you.", said Sans, sounding uninterested. "frisk, it's your turn on the shift, but before that i wanna have a word with you. can you... come to the first floor with me for a sec?"

Frisk looked at MK, who nodded in acceptance. He then followed Sans to the first floor.

They stepped into the entrance hall, bathed by the moonlight. Sans stood by the window, looking at the night sky. Frisk merely stood behind, waiting for whatever the skeleton wanted to say.

"i... wanna apologize.", he said, finally. "things are weird between us. i don't want it to stay like this."

He didn't turn around to look at Frisk, which annoyed them for some reason.

"Me neither. But you were pretty freaky back at the department store."

"i know, i know.", said Sans. He sounded tired, with the slightest hint of remorse. "i didn't mean to scare ya, bud. sorry."

He still was with his back turned to Frisk, not even looking at the sky anymore. The human was disappointed by that apology – without looking in the eyes, the skeleton could as well be lying. They resisted the temptation to tell him to turn around, and decided to take the apology instead.

"It's fine."

Sans seemed to relax a bit.

"i also want to talk about the undyne's soldier."

"I'd prefer if you didn't call him that.", said Frisk, coldly. "His name is Monster Kid."

Normally, the skeleton would joke about that fact, but even he could tell there was no mood for jokes at the time.

"ok, whatever.", he simply said. "i really don't think it was a smart idea to bring him along."

Frisk prefered not to make any comments about the matter, and waited for Sans to continue.

"but hey, i said i wasn't gonna judge, so i won't."

" _Funny_.", said Frisk, his annoyance sounding clear in his voice. "For someone who says all the time they don't judge, you seem to judge a lot."

"he tried to kill papyrus."

"You tried to kill him, too."

"he killed someone..."

"So did I!"

"...yesterday. in front of your eyes. you forgot?", continued Sans, his voice as calm as ever. "you knew that woman, right?"

Frisk bit his tongue, holding his instinct to curse the skeleton. No, oh, no... he was better than that. He was.

"That's none of your business.", he said instead.

"eh, so be it. i just think... you are being reckless, frisk. and after all the trouble papyrus and i went through to save you, acting stupid is really ungrateful of your part."

Frisk wasn't ready for that. He gasped, now getting angry. He clenched his fists.

"I... I just...", he tried to say. "Have you looked at him? Have you talked to him? Have you... _goddammit_ Sans, could you please turn around and look at my face when you talk to me!?"

With that, the skeleton finally turned around. They had a serene expression. Frisk thought for a slight moment how he probably looked like, and felt like his anger was showing up in every line of his face.

"i'm just telling you to be careful. i worry about you too.", they said.

"Oh, you worry about me!?", said Frisk, finally losing control. "You don't care about ANYTHING! Or ANYONE! Hell, you don't even care about _yourself_! All you care about is Papyrus!"

Sans remained with a neutral expression, merely watching Frisk screaming. It made the human even more upset.

"So don't pretend you care!", he continued. "I won't buy it. I know you are helping me because by helping me, you are helping Papyrus. You selfish trashbag."

Something that Frisk said seemed to have gotten through Sans. He noticed their expression getting confused, maybe slightly shocked, but they quickly recomposed, giving a sigh.

"i'm sorry you see me like that.", said the skeleton, sounding a bit hurt. It made Frisk's anger go down, even if just by a little bit. "i just don't wanna bad things to happen. to pap _or_ to you. anyway, i'll leave it on your hands. you'll decide what we'll do with the un... um... brat. i'll trust your judgement here."

The skeleton stretched, his bones popping a bit when he did so.

"welp, i'll go to bed now.", he said, passing by Frisk and climbing the stairs. "see ya."

And just like that, Frisk was all alone on the first floor. For a while, he walked from room to room, trying to calm his nerves. He only managed to think of things he wished he had said to Sans. That stupid skeleton – who did they think they were?

Whoa, but feeling angry was _tiring_. He sat down on the couch at the living room, letting himself relax.

* * *

He woke up to the light of the rising sun that entered through the window. He yawned, scratching his head, sitting on the couch of the living room, where he had slept.

Oh _, crap_ – he had slept on his shift. Quickly standing up, Frisk climbed the stairs to check the rooms to see if the others were okay.

Both Sans and Papyrus were sleeping sound. Sans in particular was all tangled up in some blankets he had found. The human sighed, relieved, and entered the room where MK was to check on him.

Wait... _the bone bars_. He wasn't supposed to be able to enter the room. They were gone.

MK was gone.

His heart sunk. Their armor had been left behind, pieces of it scattered on the floor. Just as his brain attempted to make sense out of the situation, he heard the noise of a door closing on the first floor.

Jumping some of the steps, Frisk ran down the stairs, and opened the front door of the house.

MK was only a few steps from it, and slowly turned around when he heard the front door opening, with a guilty expression. Frisk just stood by the entrance.

"Hey.", the human said. It was the best he'd come up with.

"Hey.", replied the monster, avoiding eye contact.

They both stood in silence for a while. Frisk had no idea what to do.

"You running away?", he asked.

MK seemed nervous about that. They looked to the ground.

"I-I... I won't tell Undyne. O-or anyone.", they said. "Man, I... I don't even think I can face Undyne e-ever again. She would know about this, and I'm not sure she..."

They couldn't complete the thought. Frisk felt sympathetic. Somehow, he felt in his heart they weren't lying – they had left their armor behind, after all.

And just like that, he made his decision.

"Well, it looks like I caught you.", he said, crossing his arms and smiling. "I guess you'll just have to come with us."

MK looked up, confused. He clearly wasn't expecting that.

"I... uh... you... _dude_... uh..."

"You don't have any choice in this.", said Frisk. "You are our prisoner, so you will do as I say."

The monster blinked sometimes, seemingly trying to find something to say. They were clearly moved by the human's offer. Frisk thought they were going to cry, but they turned around before he could conclude anything.

"I...", they said, their voice shaky. "Thank you, Frisk. Dude. But I... don't think this will work."

"We can make it work.", replied Frisk, trying to sound confident.

"Why are you doing this?", asked the monster. "I deserve a lot of things, and forgiveness isn't one of them."

"I don't know if that's true, but... c'mon, MK. Nobody deserves to be alone out there. I believe in you. Come with us."

"I tried to _kill you_.", he stated, his voice heavy with emotion. "You can't change that."

"Maybe not.", replied the human. "But have you ever really _wanted_ to kill anyone? I'd have a hard time believing that."

"No, but..."

"Then, I can give you another chance. I'm not saying you are a victim of the circumstances, but I haven't forgotten you are the same monster who saved me from Undyne all those years ago. I can't believe you'd go all evil after that. No – I know you can do better. Besides, we are together in this now, MK. So join us. Please."

The yellow monster turned around again. Frisk was right: there were tears on his face, but he was smiling. A genuine, sincere smile.

"I guess..." he said. "I-it would be nice."

Frisk's smile grew wider. He knew he'd made something good. He was sure that was the right decision, no matter what Sans or any other had to say.

"WOWIE! IS HE COMING ALONG!?", a loud, piercing voice was heard behind Frisk, and the human turned around. Sans and Papyrus were standing there. Papyrus was beaming, and Sans, for whatever reason, was grinning too. The shorter skeleton was holding the three backpacks.

Papyrus passed by Frisk and started patting MK on the head.

"YAY! WELCOME TO THE CREW! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?", said Papyrus.

"Um... call me MK.", replied the other monster, still smiling.

"OKAY, MK! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I'LL DO THE VERY BEST I CAN TO PROTECT YOU, SO DON'T WORRY!"

MK chuckled, and Frisk smiled. On that moment, they reminded him of the very same monster kid he met in the Underground six years before.

"made your decision, huh.", said Sans, standing besides Frisk and passing him his backpack. Frisk wore it.

"Yeah.", he said. After some sleep, Frisk didn't feel angry at Sans anymore – to be honest, he was slightly embarrassed. He wanted to apologize, but had no idea how to do it.

"i'm not gonna lie to ya, this wouldn't have been the decision i'd make.", said the skeleton. "but i have faith in yours."

Frisk looked at MK and Papyrus talking. That same hope he had felt the day before was returning to him, now bigger than ever. His determination was fully restored.

"Me too.", said the human. Sans smiled and patted Frisk's back in a friendly manner, before proceeding to join his brother.

Somehow, in the midst of a ruthless war that was taking place, Frisk learned there was happiness to be found. Yes, happiness, in small moments like those. Maybe they wouldn't last long, but if he could enjoy them, if he could remember them, he'd have the strenght needed to go on. After all, forward was the only way to go.

Frisk joined the group, and the four started to make their way out of town, the rising sun right in front filling them with determination.

* * *

 **End of Part I**


	7. Further Away

**Part II: Phantom Memories**

* * *

Frisk gazed at his own reflection on the water, fumbling his hair.

He couldn't remember the last time he had seen himself. Considering the circumstances, he didn't look too bad – apart from the dirt on his cheeks and the old bandage on his chin, he was fine.

He was by a river that crossed a forest they had camped in that night. The region was heavily forested, so more often than not they had been camping at woods like those. It had been a while since they left the last town they had came across – but Frisk wasn't complaining. At least in the forest he didn't have to see the bloodied marks, gunshot spots, and derelict buildings that composed the scenario of war. He could almost pretend things were normal.

Then again, he wouldn't be hiding in the woods if there wasn't a war taking place.

The day was dawning, and Frisk knew soon enough the others would start waking up, if they weren't already. The night guard would usually end with him, or with Monster Kid (who preferred to be simply called MK now), if he wasn't feeling up to it.

He looked at his reflection again, and then at his backpack that he had tossed by his side. He sighed – it had to be done, and it had to be done at that moment.

Opening one of the bag's pockets, the human picked up the hair cutting razor he had obtained from a department store almost two months before. Frisk had been postponing doing what he was about to do, but he knew eventually he would have to do it. His hair was long and messy, and more often than not it would cover his eyes, making it hard to see, specially during emergency situations. And they had already faced some pretty dangerous moments. It was the right thing to do.

It didn't mean he liked it, though.

"This is gonna _suck_.", he said, not sure to whom or why, looking at the razor.

Grabbing a chunk of his hair, he let out a sigh before cutting it with the blade. It was surprisingly easy. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, in the end.

Whoa. That was a _lot_ of hair. Seeing he had cut so much made his heart sink a little. Well, no turning back now.

As he finished with his fringe, he started working on the hair on the back of his head, and then at the sides. Every time he cut a chunk, he felt he was letting a part of himself go.

Ok, maybe he was just being silly. That's the only thing it was – hair. He didn't really need...

Oh, _no_. He had cut too much. He could feel his bare head on his left side, on a place he wasn't supposed to. Why was that so hard?

For some reason, worrying about something as trivial as his appearance was comforting. The human was worried all the time if he would survive to see the next day – and if his friends would be there with him, too. He worried about food, supplies, wounds, and potential enemies along the way. There had to be a break from it all sometime, and if it ended up being because of getting his hair cut, he'd gladly take it.

And then, it was done. He looked at his reflection one more time. Yep, his new hair looked as horrible as it could. All within expectations.

The sun had already risen a bit – it was probably time for him to return to the camp, before the others would start worrying. He wasn't looking forward to the comments he'd get for his new look. Frisk put his backpack on and started to make his way back.

Since the war had started, the human teamed up with Sans and Papyrus, the two skeleton brothers he had befriended in the Underground six years before. Later, they found Monster Kid, who initially wanted to take Frisk to Undyne, but ended up joining them instead. The group's plan was to get to and stop the empress. How they would do that was another story, and one Frisk wasn't really willing to know yet.

Soon enough, the human spotted the clearing they had settled for the camping. Everybody was up and getting ready to leave. Papyrus was furiously fumbling with his backpack before noticing Frisk, and when he did, he smiled kindly.

"GOOD MORNING, HU...", said the skeleton, noticing the human's haircut as he approached. "...MAN? YOU LOOK... DIFFERENT!"

"Whoa man, you look ugly as hell!", commented MK, noticing Frisk too.

"N-NO, HE DOESN'T!", said Papyrus, glancing a disapproving look to the yellow monster, before smiling to the human again, trying (and failing) to sound reassuring. "HE LOOKS... UM... TRENDY..?"

"It's okay, Papyrus.", stated Frisk, sounding more down than he should. "I know it looks horrible."

Sans raised his head to look at the human, his grin wide as usual.

"do you mean... 'hairable'?", said Sans, winking at Frisk.

"UGH, SANS! _WHY_?"

"bro, look at them. they look like an emo porcupine who forgot to straighten their hair."

MK snorted, trying to conceal a laugh. Papyrus threw his arms in the air, in a display of frustration.

"BROTHER, THAT'S OFFENSIVE TO THE HUMAN _AND_ TO PORCUPINES! PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MAKING THESE KINDS OF STATEMENTS!"

Sans avoided eye contact with his brother.

"ya know i hate promises, so there's that."

"Right, I got it." said Frisk, trying not to sound annoyed. "Can we go now?"

"heh, sure.", replied Sans, putting his backpack on. "this way."

With that, the four began to walk through the woods, finding a trail shortly after. Frisk had the impression they were venturing deeper into the forest, rather than trying to find a highway or a reference point to make their way to a city – which made the human confused. They were supposed to go to a town as their supplies were beginning to run low. Sans and Papyrus walked in front, while MK and him walked behind them.

"So, where are we going?", he asked.

Sans was drinking water from a bottle, and took a while to answer.

"if my readings from the map are right...", replied the skeleton, wiping his teeth. "... we are kinda close to the ocean, which makes us close to a shore. we are heading there."

"Shore? I thought we were going to a town?", stated MK, surprised. "What are we doing there?"

Sans offered the water bottle to Papyrus, who took it.

"isn't it obvious? we're having a beach party.", said Sans, looking behind to face the skeptical looks of Frisk and MK. "nah, just kidding. i figured it would be easier to walk than these woods we have been walking through, and safer than the highways. it's just another means to get to the same place."

Papyrus looked at his brother with a surprising admiration.

"WOWIE, SANS! THAT'S REALLY SMART!"

"i try my best, bro.", stated Sans, sounding happy with the compliment.

"WANT SOME WATER, HUMAN? MK?"

Both Frisk and the yellow monster declined, and Papyrus put the bottle in his backpack. The taller skeleton gave in and began wearing it two weeks after MK joined the group – he initially didn't want to because he couldn't pay for that, but after some persuasion from Sans he finally agreed to. It made things a lot easier, as before that both the shorter skeleton and the human had to take shifts in carrying two backpacks, which was okay when they were empty, but not so okay when they were full. MK wanted to help, but he couldn't carry a backpack for obvious reasons.

It seemed not even Papyrus could stand by all his morals during a war. Still, Frisk was happy to notice that, despite everything, they kept being the same cheery, goofy skeleton they had always been.

Frisk looked up, enjoying the warm sun that passed through the leaves. It was a nice day – neither hot nor cold. He was feeling lighthearted, and had the impression the rest of the group was like that as well. The human learned, soon enough, it was all about food: when they could have a good meal, things were hopeful and companionable. When they couldn't, things would be tense, everybody at the brink of a breakdown (expect, perhaps, Papyrus, who would try to cheer them up no matter what).

As time passed, they had to eventually walk through a tricky part of the woods, as the vines and roots on the ground made it easy to trip and fall, as well as the trees that were a bit too close to each other. Sans and Papyrus went smoothly ahead, and Frisk had no problem, but he kept close to MK to help them. They had a bit more difficulty in maneuvering through the woods, but were handling it just fine.

"You don't trip and fall everywhere now, do you?", asked Frisk, jokingly.

"Nah.", replied the monster. "You learn how to keep balance as you grow."

Frisk remembered MK from six years before. They'd literally trip every few steps when they attempted to run. In fact, they'd fall with their face to the ground so many times their face used to always be full of bruises and scratches.

They were both behind the two skeletons by a considerable distance, but tried to keep up the pace nonetheless. Frisk could hear the sounds of the forest surrounding them, and it was soothing in a strange way.

"He doesn't trust me, does he?", asked MK, suddenly.

"Who? Sans?", replied Frisk, surprised by the yellow monster bringing that up.

"Yeah... I mean... man, I feel he watches me every time we settle down somewhere. You know, seeing what I'm doing. And when it's my shift on the night watch, I have the impression he's awake. Staring at me."

Frisk bit his tongue. He wanted to say it was all MK's imagination, but he knew that wasn't true. It was obvious Sans didn't trust the reptilian monster at all, and the human didn't doubt the skeleton would actually keep an eye (or eye socket) on them when they were on night watch, even if it meant less sleep time.

"You gotta give him time.", said Frisk. "I mean, we won't pretend you didn't do anything wrong back then."

" _Time_? It's been two months already!", replied MK, bothered. "It's just... I think he'd leave me behind on the first opportunity."

They sounded so heartbroken that Frisk stopped walking, looking at their face. They stopped too, looking at the human.

"Hey, I'm not letting that happen, you know.", he stated.

"Maybe you should.", said MK, looking down. "I'm still not sure why you forgave me so easily."

To be fair, Frisk wasn't sure either – not that he had put much thought into that.

"MK, _I'm_ supposed to be the emo porcupine here.", said Frisk, pointing to his hair. "So stop whining, you crybaby."

MK chuckled, and Frisk smiled. There was no use in feeling down, anyway.

"HEY, YOU TWO!", called Papyrus, and Frisk looked to where the voice came from. He spotted the skeletons ahead, and they were looking at the human and the yellow monster. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? COME HERE!"

"even a lazybones like me managed to keep up with pap! c'mon, guys!", shouted Sans.

"Coming!", Frisk shouted back at the brothers, and he and MK started to walk towards them.

And then, the yellow monster tripped on a vine and fell with his face flat on the ground.

* * *

They kept travelling for a couple of days. Walk – that was all they did. It was all they had been doing for the past two months. It was all they could do – forward was the only way to go.

They'd settle down for the night in the forest. Frisk thought about making a fire, but it could draw attention. They had never found anybody in the woods before, but they couldn't take risks. Plus, the four kept walking all day long, with few pauses, so they would be tired when night came.

Eventually, the vegetation started to get more sparse, and Frisk noticed the dirt on the ground was beggining to appear mixed up with sand. And then, they reached it.

"WOWIE! FINALLY!", said Papyrus, excited.

They were facing the sea – the sand before it was thick and full of fragments of shells. It had never came to the human how they were in such a remote region. He doubted that many people would go to that beach, considering the vast forest surrounding it. The day had started out sunny, but it grew overcast as the afternoon went on. It was still hot though, and heavy drops of sweat covered Frisk's face. At least, one of the advantages of his new short hair was that he could bear the summer weather more easily.

He looked to his left. Against all odds, there was a small wooden shack in the distance. Maybe a fisherman used to live in there sometime in the past, but it seemed abandoned.

"Do you think there is anyone there?", asked MK, sounding concerned.

"Probably not.", replied Frisk. "But we should be careful. I'll go on ahead. Talk if necessary."

Sans merely nodded in agreement, and Papyrus made a positive sign with his thumb as Frisk took the front and guided the group to the shack.

He knew before he opened the door there wasn't anybody there. In fact, it seemed nobody had been living in there for quite sometime. A heavy layer of dust covered everything.

The shack consisted merely of one room. A small table and chair were by the window, and a bed was by the opposite wall. There was a simply-made cupboard by its side, and an old stove and a fridge were by one corner. The place wasn't exactly in its top form – there were gaps and holes in the walls, and a small part of the ceiling had broken down. Directly under it moss and fungi had settled down, probably due to the humidity caused by rains that entered the shack.

"OH MY, THIS PLACE COULD REALLY DO WITH SOME CLEANING!", commented Papyrus, sounding a bit grossed out by even having to step inside it.

"welp, this is better than we could have expected.", stated Sans, his pupils scanning the room. "let's see if there's anything good left."

The skeleton proceeded to open the small cupboard, and a horrid smell filled the air. There were a few cans of food inside, but they all had expired.

"geez, this must have expired ten years ago.", said Sans, picking one up and looking at the label. "nope, twelve. close enough."

"SANS, DON'T PICK THAT UP!", said Papyrus disapprovingly. "YOU MIGHT GET A DISEASE JUST BY TOUCHING THAT!"

"y'know pap, for once i agree.", said Sans, grinning and returning the can to the cupboard, closing it. "i don't think we need to open the fridge now, do we?"

Frisk looked at the old fridge by the corner. It looked like it hadn't been used for years. Maybe Frisk wasn't even born when it was last functioning. Sans was right – there was no need to check it.

Papyrus kept looking around, seemingly anxious to be in such a dirty environment. MK didn't mind it and sat on the dusty bed, looking tired. Sans just kept looking around, with a silly smile on his face, like he was coming up with a joke (and he probably was). Frisk felt slightly nauseated after the "cupboard incident", the smell of the rotten food still in his nose. He needed some fresh air.

"I'm going outside for a bit.", he announced, tossing his backpack on a corner. "Be right back."

"okay, just be careful, buddo.", said Sans, looking under the bed.

"I'D GO WITH YOU, BUT I THINK I AM GOING TO CLEAN THIS PLACE WHEREVER I CAN!", said Papyrus.

Frisk could only imagine how the taller skeleton would do that, but didn't question it. Instead, he just turned around and went back to the beach.

The sky was already a bit darker, indicating night was approaching. The sand felt crunchy as the human stepped on it. He decided to take a walk alongside the sea. It would make him feel better.

The water was dirty, slightly brown in color, and Frisk reckoned it was because of the sand. Still, he felt something familiar by looking at it – which was strange, as he had never been to a beach before. It was like he was remembering something he had long forgotten. What was it?

He was feeling something else. It took him a while, but as he kept walking he noticed it was... anxiety. Not the kind that would make people nervous or unsettled, but the kind that would cause a slight discomfort – bearable, but still there.

The sound of the sea was often described to be soothing, but now that Frisk was facing it, he wasn't sure he agreed. He stopped and closed his eyes, trying to understand why. There was a reason, he was sure of it, something almost primal.

Maybe he was just afraid of it? It made sense, since he had never actually been that close to the ocean. That was the easy answer – was it the correct one, though?

He decided to test it, and walked closer to the sea. However, he didn't feel his discomfort increase. It kept stable. He had reached the part where the sea was meeting the sand. The water touched his shoes, and he felt himself sinking slightly in the brown sand. It was a funny feeling – one he wasn't used to, and it took his mind out of things.

Looking to the ground, Frisk raised his left foot, then his right one. It made a funny sound. He chuckled, thinking that Sans would probably like it. He made a mental note to tell them later.

The human then observed the pieces of rocks and shells that were mixed to the sand. They were brown, which meant they had been there for a long time. The rocks were odd – they were all long and some of them seemed to have broken in weird patterns. Frisk thought about picking one up when he spotted it.

A skull. In fact, there was another one nearby, too. A dead kind of horror started to install within Frisk's guts.

Something was wrong. Those weren't rocks.

Those were bones. _Human bones_.

Before he knew it, he felt something wrapping up his leg. The fear within him turned into desperation as he saw it was a white tentacle that had come up from the sea, sneaking up on him as he was distracted by the bones.

He attempted to free his leg, but the tentacle pulled him, making him fall with his back. It started to bring him to the sea with an increasing speed.

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no..!

Frisk tried to grab something to keep him out of the water, but there was only sand around. Within seconds, he could already feel his clothes getting soaked by the salty, cold water. Whatever that thing was, it was trying to drown him.

The human fought with all his might, but to no avail. He couldn't free himself. He tried to use his hands to release from the tentacle's grasp, but it was too strong. He tried to scream, but his voice was gone.

Mere seconds later, his head was already immerse in the water. He attempted to reach out for air, but he was simply pulled further away from the surface. Inside the ocean, he struggled and struggled, wiggling his body to free himself, but that only tired him out.

He needed air – every cell in his body was screaming that. He felt his conscience slowly fading and the world around him turning black. His chest hurt when the water invaded his nose, filling up his lungs.

The last thing he remembered was desperately looking up and watching the surface getting more and more distant.

* * *

 _Frisk looked behind. He was sure of it this time. There was something in the water there._

 _He was in Waterfall, in a sort of corridor with two streams of water on both sides of the room. The water seemed somewhat deep. The human didn't know how to swim, so they tried to maintain themselves away from it._

 _But he wasn't alone. He could feel it. Whether it was friend or foe, he couldn't tell. Taking careful steps, Frisk proceeded his walk through the corridor, until a bubbling sound by his left made him stop._

 _His heart raced, but he kept frozen in place as he saw a gigantic yellow head emerge from the water. It had tentacles too, and they looked like they were in a fighting stance when Frisk noticed the monster was smiling in a goofy way._

" _Hey there...", they said, their voice comically thin despite their huge size. "Noticed you were... here..."_

 _Frisk sighed in relief. The monster seemed to have a friendly nature, much like most of the creatures he had met in the Underground._

" _I'm... I'm Onionsan!", they said, sounding unsure for some reason. "Onionsan, y'hear!", they repeated, as if to prove they were right._

 _Their smile somehow got even goofier, making Frisk uncomfortable._

" _Um... hi.", greeted the human. "Just passing by. I'm... I'm leaving already. Sorry to disturb you."_

" _It's... it's okay!", replied Onionsan, willing to start a conversation. "You visiting Waterfall, huh? Do you like it here?"_

" _Yeah, it's really... uh... nice.", stated Frisk. There was no reason to say Undyne had been trying to kill him ever since he had stepped in there._

 _Frisk kept walking, but the monster followed him in the water. The human wished they wouldn't do that. They were trying to be nice and all, but it just weirded him out._

" _Y-yeah, it is, huh!", said the monster, a few seconds too late for the conversation to flow normally. "Way better than the aquarium all my friends live in the capital... too crowded there."_

 _They sounded a bit depressed when they said that, and Frisk stopped, looking at Onionsan. They weren't with a happy expression anymore – in fact, they were looking at the water sorrowfully._

" _Even though...", they continued. "The water's getting so shallow here... I have to sit all the time... and sometimes it's hard to breathe..."_

 _Frisk glanced at the water. It was deep, but Onionsan was a really big monster. It was clear that wasn't a fit place for someone like them. Frisk found himself suddenly filled with concern._

" _You sure you're okay?", he asked._

 _The monster looked at Frisk, their smile returning._

" _W-what? Oh, don't worry! It's... fine! The aquarium is full... anyway.", they tried to sound cheerful, but Frisk knew it wasn't sincere. "Besides, Undyne will save us all, y'hear! We'll get to the surface, y'hear! I heard a human has fallen down here, y'hear!"_

 _Frisk tried to smile, but faltered. It wasn't the first time monsters told him a human had fallen down there. Not all creatures knew what humans looked like – many of them thought the boy was actually just another monster. Frisk wasn't bothered by it, though he still felt out of place in the Underground._

 _Frisk looked uncomfortably to the ground before he began to walk through the corridor once more. Onionsan accompanied him, but this time they didn't say a word. The human wanted to say something – that they would be alright, or that they'd get to see the surface – but he couldn't bring himself to say it._

" _So... that's the end of the room... I guess that's it, huh?"_

 _Frisk looked at the monster. They weren't trying to conceal their sad face anymore, but still smiled kindly._

" _So... I guess I'll see you around... in Waterfaaaaaaall!", they said, making a motion with a tentacle that Frisk interpreted as a goodbye movement. They slowly sank back into the water._

 _The human stood there for a while, unsure of what to make of the situation. All that time, he had wanted to leave the Underground, but... was it really the right thing to do? Didn't those monsters deserve freedom more than he did?_

" _Sorry."_

 _With that, he walked out of the room, continuing his surrealistic journey._

* * *

Frisk woke up coughing. A second later, it all came to him at the same time – his head hurt, his limbs were numb, he felt sick on the stomach and his whole body was shaking.

He was laying down on the sand, and his vision was spinning. He caught sight of Sans, Papyrus, and MK crouched down around him. They seemed to be talking, but their voices sounded muffled. Papyrus' piercing voice made his head hurt even more.

The human turned to the side, coughing, gagging and spurting, throwing up water. His torso hurt with the effort. He attempted to raise his head a bit, but when it felt like the whole world was making a 360o turn at the speed of light, he let it fall back to the sand. He felt a bony hand holding his own, and managed to distinguish Papyrus' concerned expression amidst all that anguish.

As time passed, things started to get back to normal. His vision stopped spinning, and he could hear more clearly. He still felt sick, though, and his shivers also remained. As sensitivity returned to his cold skin, he began to feel the wet clothes against it.

Frisk attempted to sit upright, but his trembling body made it a hard task. Papyrus grabbed his sides to help him out.

"ARE HIS LIPS SUPPOSED TO BE PURPLE?", asked the taller skeleton, sounding extremely worried.

"nope.", replied Sans, taking his jacket off and wrapping it around Frisk like a blanket. "geez, bud, how the hell did you get yourself into this mess?"

The human tried to talk, but his throat wasn't willing to produce any sound. He coughed and took a few breaths before attempting it again. Papyrus rubbed circles on his back.

"T-t-th... that... w-was...", he managed to say, his voice weak and his teeth rattling.

"it wasn't.", replied Sans, avoiding eye contact. "they died. years ago. lack of oxygen in the water."

Frisk felt his eyes burning, and his whole face hurt. Everything hurt, and not only on a physical level.

"W-w-wh... who..?"

"another monster. don't know who. if mk hadn't seen you being pulled into the water, we wouldn't have been able to save you. we made them flee, and papyrus jumped to the sea and brought you back."

"WE... WE THOUGHT WE HAD LOST YOU, HUMAN!", said Papyrus, his voice full of emotion, like he was about to cry. "DON'T BE SO RECKLESS!"

Frisk looked to the faces of the three monsters. All of them seemed to be deeply concerned. The human wasn't used to that kind of treatment, and felt bad for making everyone so worried.

"Th... thanks...", he said. "A-and... so-sorry."

"It wasn't your fault.", said MK. "I just don't get it. What was a monster doing here? What were _humans_ doing here? I thought we were in a pretty isolated region?"

He kicked a human skull away, and gazed to the bones that were on the shore, puzzled.

"maybe we are close to a camp or something.", replied Sans. "we need to be extra careful now."

The sky had a purple tone, and it was getting dark fast. Frisk's shivers were already coming to a stop.

"LET'S GET BACK TO THAT... UM... PLACE.", said Papyrus, sounding as if the mere idea of returning to the shack disgusted him. "YOU WON'T DO ANY NIGHT SHIFTS TONIGHT, HUMAN! JUST REST, OK? THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND THE OTHERS WILL TAKE CARE OF THE WATCH!"

"Yeah!" agreed MK. "Leave it to us!"

"don't sweat about it, frisk. you need to recover.", added Sans.

Normally, Frisk would say they were being ridiculous and that he was fully capable of doing a night watch, but in that moment he was feeling so worn out he just took the offer.

With the help of the two skeletons, the human stood up and they all walked back to the shack. The human noticed it was a bit difficult to walk, but leaned against Papyrus for support. The monster helped, and Frisk learned that, with friends like those, maybe nothing would be too hard to do.

* * *

He remembered.

Why he felt anxious around water. Why it caused him discomfort. How could he have forgotten? It was part of the very reason he was the way he was. The starting point of his story.

It was already dark outside, but Sans and Papyrus had turned two flashlights on so that everybody could see. No one was sleeping, so the night watch hadn't started. As Frisk felt he was about to cry, he wished the shift would begin soon.

He was sitting on a corner. Nobody was really doing anything. Sans played to make shadows with the flashlight. Papyrus hummed a tune. MK just sat on the bed, looking to the ground.

He couldn't do it. Not in front of them. He had to get out.

The human stood up and walked to the entrance of the shack. The other three looked at him.

"HUMAN?", asked Papyrus. "PLEASE, DON'T GO OUT AGAIN... IT MAY BE DANGEROUS!"

"I'll be fine.", replied Frisk, struggling to maintain his voice stable. "I'll keep by the shack. I just need some fresh air."

Before they could object, he exited the shack and turned the corner of it, sitting on the sand and leaning his back against the wall. The air was chillier than it had been during the day, but it didn't make Frisk cold. He had swapped his clothes to a simple white T-shirt and an old pair of jeans, as his soaked ones were left to dry.

He wanted to cry. He felt his throat burning and tears forming in his eyes. He hadn't felt that way in a long time – he never imagined he'd feel that way because of _that_ again.

He heard steps on the crunchy sand approaching, and quickly swallowed a sob and dried his face. Sans appeared from the corner and stood there for a moment, before sitting down next to him. It was hard to make the skeleton's form in the dark, but Frisk knew it was them – a short, bony figure that was unmistakable.

"heya. wanna talk?", he asked. "something bothering ya?"

The human didn't know if he wanted to talk to Sans about it, but knew that he would get a lot out from his chest if he did it. Yes – he had to do it. Keeping a ghost from the past hidden would only cause problems in the future.

"That's... how she died.", said Frisk, his voice low.

"who? toriel?", asked Sans, confused.

The human took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No.", he replied. "My mother. Drowned. I had forgotten about it."

Sans didn't say anything. It was clear they didn't expect the conversation to take that turn.

"i'm sorry.", said the skeleton. "do you remember her?"

"Yeah...", answered Frisk, feeling emotionally tired. "Yeah... she was... nice. Don't remember seeing her much, because she was working all the time. She was a single mother, but... when we were together, I felt... I felt so good. She was probably the only human being I ever really loved."

That was a bold statement, and Frisk was fully aware of that. Sans seemed to be thinking carefully of what he was going to reply.

"whoa, frisk.", he finally said. "that's a harsh thing to say."

"It's the truth.", the human merely replied. "Anyway... I _saw_ her die. We were near a lake, I think. I don't remember exactly what happened, but she fell and didn't come back. Then I was at that orphanage."

Sans left eye started to glow. It wasn't that eerie light Frisk had seen before, though. This one had a greenish color, and felt more warm and comforting. Its gentleness illuminated the area a bit, and Frisk could see the skeleton's expression, and it was a pensive one.

"nobody here has a happy story, huh?", they said, wrapping their arms around their legs. "pap and i... we came from an orphanage as well."

Frisk held his breath. It felt like Sans was finally about to open up, even if just a little. In the past, they had told him they would do that eventually, and it was nice to see they had kept their word.

"i... need to confess something.", they continued, their expression full of guilt. "pap is not my biological brother. but he doesn't know that."

The human thought for a moment. It made sense – the skeleton brothers were physically very different from each other. However, that possibility had never crossed his mind because he didn't know how monster's genetics worked.

"i don't remember my parents. at all.", continued Sans. "they might have died. they might have abandoned me. i don't really care. what i do remember is when pap got to the orphanage, though. he was... what? one year old? and gosh, when he saw me for the first time, he laughed, and i got so, so attached. i'd help to feed him. i'd play with him. hell, i'd even help to change his diapers. it sounds like a chore, but he helped to brighten up my day. i stopped feeling so alone."

Sans was smiling nostalgically, like he could almost see Papyrus' baby face right in front of him again. It made Frisk feel warm inside. Then, the skeleton sighed and proceeded.

"welp, one day one of the ladies that ran the orphanage called me. i was nine, and paps was three. she told me that a couple was gonna adopt him. i knew what that meant. i'd be all alone again."

The glow on his eye flickered for a brief moment.

"i couldn't stand it. that's why...", Sans seemed to be unsure if he should say what he was about to say. "that's why i ran away with him. pretty selfish, huh? i took away his opportunity to grow up with a loving, caring family to make him grow up with me, a screwed up, lonely child."

The skeleton's voice had a regretful tone Frisk never expected to hear. That explained why they were so protective of their brother. They were so afraid of losing him – they had _always_ been afraid of losing him.

"we lived on the streets, like beggars. it was not until i was sixteen and got my first job that we were able to rent a room and live under a roof. it was a tough life, but papyrus was always there cheer me up. you... you didn't have anybody, did you?"

Frisk shook his head. No, he never had anybody to count on. Nobody to make him happy. Nobody to make him smile – up until that moment. With Sans, Papyrus and MK, he was finally learning how to be happy, even with the horrors of the war around him. That was somewhat messed up, but could he blame himself for that?

"do you think pap would hate me if i revealed all that to him?", asked the skeleton.

Frisk knew the answer, and he didn't even had to think about it.

"Of course not.", he answered. "He loves you, like you love him. Anyone can tell that. He'll never hate you, no matter what."

"heh, thanks, buddy.", said Sans, smiling a little.

"You're welcome.", replied Frisk. "But you should be sincere with him. Tell him what you just told me."

"i will. one day.", they stated.

The human stood up and offered his hand for the skeleton to do the same. They took it, and they both walked back to the shack's entrance.

"frisk?", called the skeleton, a few steps from the door. "you know what we'll have to do for the war to end, right?"

Frisk closed his eyes, and when he opened again, he was looking at the ground. He had never really given much thought about it, yet he knew exactly what had to be done.

"Yes. I do. And I hate it."

"good."


	8. Cinnamon

The next few days seemed to mend with each other without Frisk being able to tell them apart. The weather got unbelievably hot, making the group tire out much faster during their travels. They never stood in the same place for more than a couple hours, specially after the human's near death experience back at the beach.

Not much was said during those travels. Sometimes Sans would make a joke (and his brother would react just as expected), but apart from that, conversations were brief and direct. Things were starting to get tense again as their supplies got lower by the day. Conserving it came with a price, and that price was that everyone was getting in a foul mood. Time came when even Papyrus stopped trying to cheer the group up. It seemed even the taller skeleton had his limits.

"This is getting ridiculous.", said MK, grumpy, while they were walking on a trail in yet another forest. "It's been almost three weeks since we've seen a city. We are getting nowhere."

"then you should not be using your energy to complain.", said Sans, visibly annoyed himself. "and just walk. i'm not carrying you around if you faint or something."

"Like I'd ask you to do that."

Frisk knew those little fights would happen eventually. They never did any good to anyone. He hated them, but could do nothing to stop it from happening – even he had participated in some of them during the past two months. It was only natural, but the human felt his patience going down. It didn't help he had woken up with a bad headache that day.

"Face it: we are lost.", continued MK. "You misread the map."

"i _didn't_ misread the map.", said Sans, struggling to keep his voice calm. "we are getting there."

"You said we were getting there days ago!"

"oh, you wanna read the damn map, then? because i'd love to know your opinion on where we should be going now."

"I'd do it, but you never let me read it!"

"oh yeah, i remembered now: i don't wanna know what you have to say. i'm twice your age, maybe even a little more, so you should be listening to me."

Frisk pressed his temples. His head was really pounding. He looked to Papyrus, praying the taller skeleton would do something, but it seemed they were just as unwilling to do anything as he was.

"Okay, I see you're using the age thing again.", said MK, rolling his eyes. "Just because you're old it doesn't mean you know more. It just means you're old."

"it means i'm more experienced, you brat.", replied Sans. "and i've done more for this group than you'll ever will."

"Yeah, like getting us lost on these stupid woods again."

"if you are so unsatisfied, why don't you just leave? by all means, be my guest."

"Shut up, you two." said Frisk, stopping where he was. Everyone else stopped and looked at him.

"Frisk, tell him we are lost.", said MK. "I can't get through that thick skull of his, but you..."

"oh, stealing my jokes now, i see."

"Will you two shut up already!?", said Frisk, raising his voice. "Aren't you hearing this?"

The other three looked confused at him, but then realization came to each of their faces. Among the noises of the forest, there was a distinguishable sound in the distance, like an electric short circuit of some sort.

"WHAT IS THAT?", questioned Papyrus, with an intrigued expression.

"Should we investigate?", asked MK, almost whispering.

"I think so.", said the human. "Let's just be careful, ok?"

The four got out of the trail, following the sound. They were being as silent as they could be, as there could be someone nearby and they didn't want to be caught off guard. As the noise got louder, meaning they got closer to whatever was causing it, Frisk noticed the tree's trunks started to appear with a black, burned side.

The human's heart failed a beat when he saw it.

A wrecked helicopter had crashed there. It had destroyed some of the trees – pieces of them scattered on the ground. The helicopter itself was black and burned beyond salvation, but its engine was still on, although broken, hence the noise they'd been hearing.

"WOWIE! WHAT'S THAT?", asked Papyrus.

"A helicopter.", replied Frisk. "At least, it _was_ one."

"WHAT'S A HELICOPTER?"

From time to time, he human forgot some things they had on the surface didn't exist in the Underground. It's not like monsters ever needed helicopters where they lived, for example.

"It's like a machine that flies.", he answered.

"So... it's like a Tsunderplane?", asked MK, raising an eyebrow.

"Um... yeah, but less... I don't know, live?", said Frisk, unsure.

"it's pretty destroyed.", said Sans, walking around the helicopter and looking at the wreckage. "this thing is not gonna be flying any time soon."

Frisk peeked inside, looking at the pilot's seat. He was expecting to see a human corpse there, but it was empty.

"whatcha think that happened?", asked Sans, puzzled.

"I don't know.", replied Frisk, looking at the skeleton. "I think there were humans here? Don't know what happened to them, but I don't think they survived."

"yep, it was a bad crash.", said the skeleton, looking above, as if imagining the helicopter falling down from the sky. "chances of survival would be minimal."

Frisk imagined being inside a crashing plane or helicopter was a pretty terrifying way to die, and shivered when he thought how whoever was inside felt when it was coming down.

"HEY, COME HERE!", called Papyrus. He was next to a tree, pointing to the ground. "I FOUND SOMETHING!"

The other three joined the taller skeleton, and looked at where he was pointing. Frisk's jaw dropped. He remembered that. It had a bright yellow paper wrapped around it, but its shape was what gave it away. The last time the human had seen it, he was in Snowdin Town.

" _Dude_... but... this is a...", began MK, not believing his eyes.

"Cinnamon Bunny.", completed Frisk, completely taken aback as well.

"WHAT'S THIS DOING HERE?", inquired Papyrus, picking it up and wiping the dirt away from the package.

That was a great question. As far as Frisk knew, there was only one place on the entire planet you could get a Cinnamon Bunny wrapped exactly like that one. How it had found its way into those woods, he had no idea. Of course, it could be all a coincidence, but the human had a feeling in his gut that wasn't the case.

"heya, you should look at this.", said Sans, crouched down a few feet away. Frisk snapped out from his thoughts as he, MK and Papyrus headed to where they were.

At first, Frisk didn't see anything out of ordinary on the ground near the shorter skeleton, but on a second look he spotted a faint trail of a pair of small footprints, headed northeast from where they were.

"it looks like they tried to conceal their footprints.", concluded Sans, standing up. "they didn't do a very good job."

"The footprints are probably from a child, judging from the size.", analyzed MK. "Umm... I just can't say what type of monster it is."

"WE SHOULD FOLLOW THEM, THEN!", said Papyrus, back to his energized self. "IF IT'S A CHILD, IT MIGHT BE IN DANGER!"

"I agree.", said Frisk. "I mean... this and the Cinnamon Bunny can't be a coincidence. And maybe it's related to the helicopter as well."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!", said MK, looking the human in the eye. "Easy there, man. I don't know if you forgot, but 99% of the monsters want you dead or captured."

"i hate to agree with mk.", said Sans, adjusting his backpack. "but i agree with mk. following a monster's footprints in your condition is not a wise decision."

Frisk felt bothered by the monsters reactions, but he had to admit it was probably true. Still, he felt there was something... unique to that situation. Like a call on the back of his mind he felt he couldn't ignore.

"Hey, they're child's footprints, right?", asked the human. "What harm can a child possibly do?"

MK looked at Frisk with a slight desperation in his eyes, like he wanted to tell something he couldn't quite translate into words.

"Frisk, man...", he began. "I don't think you really understand what happened in the Underground during these last six years. Undyne has brainwashed almost everybody, even little children. They are fighting too and... dude, it's _terrifying_."

The yellow monster had a tense look, like they were remembering bad things that they saw in the Underground. Frisk could only imagine the kind of stuff that was told to children about humans. He looked to the skeleton brothers. Papyrus had disappointment showing up on every line of his expression, and Sans closed both his eye sockets, sighing.

"it's true, buddo.", he said, opening his eye sockets again. "i told you what happened, but even if i tell you over and over again, you won't really know how it felt like, 'cause you weren't there. besides, the child might not be alone, and in that case we might get ourselves in real trouble."

Frisk shifted his weight on his feet, uncomfortable. Papyrus wouldn't say anything, but he knew the skeleton would end up agreeing with the other monsters. He was upset, but there was no use in insisting. He'd have to let it drop.

"Fine.", said the human, defeated. "Let's head the other way, then."

Both Sans and MK nodded in agreement. Papyrus looked at the package he was holding.

"CAN WE TAKE THE CINNAMON BUNNY?", he asked, with a child-like expectation on his voice.

"sure thing bro, why not?", replied Sans. "don't think it's spoiled, and we'll need all the food we can get."

The taller skeleton smiled with the response, and put the Cinnamon Bunny away in his backpack. They seemed to have cheered up with that. Frisk, however, felt it would take a lot more to get him out of his somber mood. To make things worse, his head was still throbbing, like someone was hitting his brain with a hammer.

And so, the four proceeded their travel once again, walking away from the crash site, and away from whoever was near there. Frisk was the only one who looked behind a couple times, expecting maybe to see a glimpse of someone following them.

Nobody really said anything, and apart from Papyrus, who hummed a tune once in a while, they all walked in silence. Frisk thought about how at least those last moments helped to calm their nerves, as now no one was really wanting to start an argument or a fight.

Shortly after, they encountered a clearing. Those weren't really that hard to find, yet there was something about that one that felt out of place.

"WOWIE!", said Papyrus. "WHAT A BIG CLEARING!"

Maybe "big" was an understatement – it was gigantic. It made a perfect circle in the middle of the woods. Frisk felt nervous, the clearing bugging his mind. That place didn't make any sense _at all_ , as the forest they were in wasn't the type to have such big, bare spaces. The ground looked odd too: it was unnaturally clean compared to the dirty, cracked ground on the rest of the woods.

"There's something there.", said MK, tensed up, looking to the northwestern part of the clearing.

Frisk looked too, but didn't see anything strange or noteworthy. He glanced to the yellow monster, who was still with their eyes fixed on that spot.

"I don't see anything.", said the human, though the reptilian still didn't look away. "MK?"

"Man, just... look there!", repeated MK. "The air there is... shaking?"

"i see nothing.", stated Sans.

"ME NEITHER!", reinforced Papyrus, looking at MK worryingly. "ARE YOU SEEING THINGS? PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE SOME REST HERE?"

"i think we should go around this clearing first.", said Sans. "the brat might be seeing things, but this place _does_ look a bit suspicious to me."

"Guys, what the hell!?", said MK, looking desperately to everybody on the group. "How can you not see it? That's-"

BANG!

The loud noise startled everyone, who jumped in their place. It came from behind, and when Frisk looked, there was a burned spot on the ground behind Papyrus, and a purple smoke was coming out from it. The taller skeleton slowly retreated.

BANG!

This time, the human saw a purple flash zapping in front of his eyes, hitting a nearby tree and causing more smoke to appear.

"we're under attack!", said Sans, a sense of urgency on his voice. "we need to..!"

Before he could finish the thought, a variety of magic spells started to swarm around them, forcing them into the clearing. Frisk thought that was probably the attacker's intention, since they were easier to spot that way, but on the other hand they had more room to dodge. And dodging was something Frisk was really good at.

The magic was cast with a variety of colors, making the scene look chaotic. The human was almost hit a handful of times, but always got away in the last second, and the others seemed to be handling themselves well, too. Sans was the only one who tried to counter attack, sending waves of bones to all directions, since their attackers didn't seem to stay in the same place for long. Frisk tried to see who they were, but couldn't identify anything in the forest. It was like there was no one actually there, almost as if the trees were the ones summoning the magic.

"WHO ARE THEY!?", asked Papyrus, white sparkles missing him by inches.

"i don't know!", said Sans, sending another wave of sharp bones into the woods, in the hopes of hitting anyone, though it seemed to have no impact on their enemies attack rate.

Frisk could barely react when he saw a set of spells being cast to the shorter skeleton's direction. Fortunately, they were quick enough to summon a spinning bone in front of them. The spells hit the bone with an incredible force, knocking Sans back to the ground.

"SANS!", yelled Papyrus, looking at his brother. "C'MON, DON'T YOU STAY THERE! UP!"

But the human noticed, with an increasing horror, that the skeleton couldn't stand up anymore. Vines had emerged from the ground, wrapping themselves around Sans' limbs and keeping him there. The monster struggled for a bit, and then snapped their fingers a couple times, but nothing happened.

"dammit!", said Sans, frustrated. "i can't use my shortcuts!"

Frisk kneeled besides them, and grabbed a vine that was on their arm, but felt a sharp pain on his hands as soon as he touched the plant. He looked at them, and saw two cuts that crossed both his palms. The cuts weren't deep, but a considerable amount of blood was pouring out from them.

Being hurt by a plant wasn't something the human was unfamiliar with, but Frisk couldn't help but feel horrified when the vines started to pull Sans into the ground. They were going to bury him alive.

"MK!", yelled Papyrus, making Frisk look at their direction.

The taller skeleton pushed the yellow monster away from a magic spell and took the hit instead. They were sent flying and fell a few feet away from Sans, who couldn't raise his head, but still knew what had happened.

"oh my god, pap!?", called the shorter skeleton, a hint of desperation on his voice. "pap!?"

"I'M FINE!", replied Papyrus, attempting to stand up but finding themselves unable to do so. The vines had grabbed them too. Nevertheless, Sans sighed with relief.

Now, that was just great.

Frisk looked to the skeleton brothers, panicking. There had to be something he could do, but he couldn't think straight. Meanwhile, the vines were still pulling Sans down. He looked around, the magic still buzzing around them.

They would die there.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard a loud, sucking sound, and suddenly all the noises from the harmful spells being thrown at them were muffled down. Frisk looked around and saw they were encapsulated in a semi-translucent orange bubble. The spells that hit it simply disappeared with the impact.

Marveled, he looked at MK, who were with their eyes closed, concentrating.

"Did you-"

"Not... now.", answered the monster, sounding as if they were holding their breath. "Do... something... now..!"

Frisk gulped, but inside he felt his determination growing. MK had given him a chance to save everybody, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"WOWIE!", said Papyrus. "THAT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE!"

Frisk looked at the vines wrapping Sans' body. The skeleton had stopped fighting them, and was smiling at the human.

"frisk... buddy...", he said. "go save pap. you can't save me."

"Shut up.", replied the human, still thinking on a way to get the skeletons out of the situation. "I'm gonna save you two."

"don't worry about me. i think i can learn how to photosynthesize.", he replied, winking. "it's not so bad, there are 'planty' of things to do here."

Papyrus was still struggling to break free from the vines, but they heard what Sans had said and let out a growl.

"SANS, THIS IS _DEFINITELY_ NOT THE TIME!"

Then, the idea hit Frisk. His hair cutting razor. If he couldn't tear the vines with his hands, maybe a cutting tool was just what he needed.

"Can't... hold on... much longer...", mumbled MK, falling to his knees, his forehead frowned with concentration.

Frisk opened his backpack and searched desperately for his razor. There it was. His hands were shaky and he couldn't grab the razor firmly due to the cuts on his palms, but he wasn't letting that stop him.

He attempted to cut a vine wrapped around Sans arm, and for a blissful moment he thought it was working. But after several seconds, he noticed the razor wasn't cutting the plant in the slightest. With his panic increasing once again, he tried harder, but it felt like he was trying to cut iron with a butter knife. He was getting nowhere. Tears of frustration began to form on his eyes.

"heya, bud.", whispered Sans. His body had sunken more than halfway into the ground, and wasn't stopping. "it's okay. please... please save pap. i know you can do it. save him."

Frisk tossed the razor away, shaking his head. He couldn't think of anything else. That had been his big idea, but it seemed he had reached a dead end. He couldn't save them. He couldn't save anybody.

To make things worse, the bubble disappeared as MK finally fell to the ground, unconscious, exhaustion finally taking the best of them. Frisk felt his stomach burning as he noticed the vines had started to grasp the yellow monster too.

Frisk put his hands on his head, not minding they were bloodied. The magic still buzzed around him, and it was only a matter of time since he'd be hit too. What could he do, what could he do!?

And just like that, it all stopped. The magic stopped being fired at them. The vines that grabbed Sans, Papyrus and MK withered away. It all got really silent. Frisk looked around, confused.

"Oh my god!", he heard a female voice from somewhere nearby, but he couldn't see from whom it was. "I can't believe... it's..! Sis! Sis!"

Sans stood up from the ground with his bones rattling, looking amused to the hole shaped like him he had left on the ground. Papyrus stood up as well, wiping the dirt away from their battle suit.

"Thank goodness I noticed...", said the voice again, relieved.

"who are you?", asked Sans, his voice cracky. He cleared his throat (or whatever skeletons had in their place, anyway). "show yourself."

Sans had a dangerously calm tone, like they always had whenever they were trying to sound threatening. Frisk, however, was looking at a spot on the clearing ahead of him. The air there was indeed wavy, like MK had pointed out, and it made the things behind it slightly blurry.

"THAT VOICE SOUNDED... FAMILIAR.", said Papyrus, confused.

"Of course it did.", sounded another voice, deeper, but clearly female as well. "We were all neighbors, after all."

Frisk blinked, and in the next moment he had to prick himself to make sure he wasn't in some sort of bizarre dream. A house had literally appeared out of nowhere, taking the space where the blurry air once was. It was wooden made, but it looked incredibly well kept. Its size was considerable – two floors tall. Now that would be a cabin in the woods to brag about.

Even then, his attention quickly shifted to the two anthropomorphic bunny monsters who were in front of the house, looking at them. One of them had purple fur, and the other one was pink's.

"Hiya.", complimented the purple lady, who Frisk remembered to be the owner of a shop in Snowdin Town. "Sorry about all... _that_. If we knew we'd be visited by the two wacky skeleton brothers from Snowdin, we wouldn't have attacked."

"OH, I REMEMBER YOU!", said Papyrus, cheerfully. "IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND THIS IS MY BROTHER..."

"spare us the bullshit.", said Sans, looking at the two bunnies. Papyrus looked shocked to his brother. "you almost _killed_ us."

"I-it wasn't on purpose!", said the pink bunny, who Frisk remembered from an inn in Snowdin too. "We can't really identify who's outside because of the protective spells we cast around the house!"

The human noticed they looked apologetic, and really couldn't help but believe them. Sans, however, didn't seem to be willing to forget what had just happened.

"well, you could have stopped sooner.", he said, coldly.

"Then you should thank the kid there if we even stopped.", replied the purple bunny, crossing her arms and motioning her head towards MK, who was still lying on the ground. "We noticed he used a bubble-shield spell. It's a very powerful protective charm, and very few monsters can pull that off. We peeked outside to see, noticed it was you, and stopped."

"We're really, _really_ sorry!", said the pink bunny, joining her hands in front of her chest. "Please, come inside so we can talk this through!"

Sans seemed unsure of what to do, and Papyrus put a hand on his brother's shoulder, supportive. Frisk didn't know how he felt about all that. Deep inside, he felt the monsters in front of them were being sincere, but it still could be dangerous. Trusting the wrong people could have a high cost in the situation they were in.

"C'mon, Sans.", said the purple bunny. "We know each other. You know I could never be with Undyne, nor my sister. We apologized. Now come inside. Let us help you."

The shorter skeleton looked uncomfortable, and glanced a look to Frisk.

"whatcha think, buddy?"

Frisk held his breath. It was the second time Sans would leave an important decision on his hands, but this time the human wasn't entirely certain of what to do. His first big decision involved letting MK join the group, and he was glad he did it. Now, it was different. He had much less to work with – he'd just have to go with what his gut was telling him.

"I think we can trust them.", he said. "Besides, MK is in real bad shape. We could use a night here."

Sans looked at the yellow monster, for the first time with a hint of worry on his eyes. Papyrus quickly kneeled besides them and picked them up, carrying them in his arms.

"okay, you heard him.", said Sans, looking to the bunny monsters. "but if you try any dirty tricks on us, you'll have a bad..."

"Yeah, yeah.", said the purple bunny, cutting Sans' sentence. "You should know I'll keep an eye on you too. Specially since you have a human in your group."

She looked at Frisk when she said that, and the human returned the look, determined not show any signs of insecurity.

"Great!", said the pink bunny. "Let's go in, then!"

Turning around, the two rabbits led Frisk, Sans and Papyrus, who carried an unconscious MK, inside the big wooden house.

* * *

"WOWIE! THIS IS JUST LIKE IN SNOWDIN!"

Frisk agreed with the taller skeleton wholeheartedly. If he didn't know better, he could have as well thought they had taken a portal back to the happy snowy little town of Snowdin. The furniture was almost all made of wood, and it was tidy and clean, smelling of lavender.

They walked a small corridor and reached the living room. It was relatively small, but felt cozy with its checkered sofas in front of a fireplace, who Frisk thought would be great to sit by in the winter. From that room, the human saw some doors, although he didn't know where they took, and the stairs that led to a mezzanine on the second floor.

"yep. like snowdin, in the good ol' days at least.", said Sans, looking around nostalgically. "how did you find this place?"

The purple bunny put her hands on her hips as she glanced back to the group behind her.

"Like you did. We travelled, and travelled, and travelled, until we found this place. We were really lucky to find it, so you must understand why we set all those traps outside and concealed the house with magic."

So they weren't being attacked by anyone – those had been all traps they had triggered. Frisk felt it was smart to keep possible threats away with a tight security, but he didn't feel any happy when said security had worked against him.

"So you're not fighting?", asked the human. "In the war, I mean?"

"You'd be surprised by how many monsters are not fighting in this war, human.", she answered, looking at him. "A lot of us are just hiding, waiting for it to end. And, for the better or the worse, it will end. Someday."

Frisk wasn't comfortable with the purple bunny's gaze. It felt like she was looking inside his soul, staring at all his inner demons.

"you have any reason to believe that?", asked Sans, doing the equivalent of raising a brow. "do you know something?"

"A little.", she answered, looking at the skeleton. "Bits and pieces of information we have gathered in the past two months."

"We can discuss this over dinner.", said the pink bunny, smiling. "Come, you must be tired. I'll show your rooms upstairs."

"I'll take care of dinner tonight.", said the other bunny, sighing. "Will call you when it's ready."

With that, she walked through one of the doors on the living room, while the other lead the group upstairs. Papyrus was extra careful not to accidentally hit anything with MK.

"This house is pretty big, so there are a lot of rooms.", she said when they reached the second floor. Past the mezzanine, it consisted basically of a corridor with more doors. Some paintings were hung on the walls.

"WHY WAS A PLACE LIKE THIS VACANT?", asked Papyrus, curious.

"Maybe it was a camp house." Frisk guessed. "If the humans who owned this place haven't showed up yet, I don't think they ever will."

The mood seemed to get darker as the human said that. As he had to worry with his group's survival everyday, it was easy to forget they were in a war, where people had actually been killed mercilessly, perhaps even cruelly. Or maybe he was just becoming numb to the feeling.

"Here's a room.", said the bunny, opening a door and showing a cozy, nicely furnished bedroom, with a bunk bed by its corner.

"MK and I can take this.", said Frisk, looking to Papyrus. "You can put him on the lower bed. Let him rest for a while."

"OKAY!", said Papyrus, proceeding to accommodate the yellow monster on the bed. MK moved slightly, and Frisk got worried that maybe the shield spell had been too much for them.

They got out from the room, Papyrus closing the door silently as the bunny led them to the next one. It was decorated with superhero posters on the walls, as well as with shelves full of toys. Two small beds were on the middle, indicating that room once belonged to young siblings.

"WOWIE, THAT'S THE _COOLEST_ BEDROOM!", said Papyrus, looking marveled at the posters. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, THINK THIS IS AWESOME! IT EVEN HAS TWO BEDS! SANS CAN STAY HERE TOO!"

Sans seemed to like the idea, and grinned.

"yep. i like it too. if you have nightmares you won't even need to step outside of the room to sleep in my bed."

"S-SANS!", said Papyrus, visibly embarrassed. "I ONLY DID THAT WHEN I WAS A CHILD!"

"a 19-year-old child?", replied the shorter skeleton, holding laughter.

"SANS, YOU..! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYBODY!", said Papyrus, annoyed. If skeletons could turn red, Frisk reckoned the taller one would surely do.

"heh, sorry bro. it slipped.", said Sans, shrugging and looking to the side mischievously. "it's settled then. this room is ours."

Sans threw himself on one of the beds, relaxing. Frisk caught a glimpse of the bunny with her hand in front of her mouth, trying to conceal laughter, and it made the human smile a little. She nodded to the skeletons.

"Okay. I'll help my sister with dinner. You should rest a while.", she informed, looking at the brothers and then at the human. Then, she saw something on him that made her smile turn into a look of concern. "Oh... your hands! You're hurt!"

Frisk looked at his palms. The blood had dried, but the cuts were still visible. It didn't sting anymore, although it did feel sore.

"We should clean it!", said the bunny. "We have antiseptic and bandages in the bathroom. Come with me."

"THEN I'LL GO HELP IN THE KITCHEN!", said Papyrus, with a familiar excitement on his voice. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL MAKE YOU ALL A WONDERFUL DINNER! I HOPE YOU HAVE SPAGHETTI HERE!"

"That's great!", replied the bunny, smiling. "I'm looking forward for it, thank you!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME! NYEH HEH HEH!", laughed the skeleton, looking proud of himself.

The three exited to the corridor, while Sans kept laid down on his bed. Papyrus took the stairs to the first floor, humming happily as he did so. The pink bunny opened the door to the bathroom and indicated the human to go inside.

It was a simple bathroom, with a shower, a toilet, a sink and a small cabinet. The pink bunny opened it and picked up a bottle of antiseptic, a pack of cotton balls and some bandages, leaving them by the sink. The human was more impressed than ever – the house was even well supplied. The two sisters were really lucky to have stumbled upon it.

"Can I see it?", she asked, and Frisk showed his palms. Her face contorted a little as she analyzed the cuts. "Oh my... were these caused by our traps?"

It was one of those situations the human thought it was better to lie than hurt someone's feelings, but he didn't feel dishonesty was the way to go there. He nodded.

"The vines.", he answered. She looked a bit down before picking up a cotton ball and pouring the antiseptic on it. "Um... at least it's not deep, so it's nothing to worry about."

"I knew they were lethal.", said the bunny, starting to clean the cut on Frisk's right hand, making it sting for a moment. "But I didn't think they were _that_ lethal. Well, maybe I was just being naive. My sis and I have always been really good at offensive magic. We just... never needed to use it up until now."

She threw the bloody cotton ball away and picked another to repeat the procedure on his left hand. Frisk thought about how that war was messed up. Monsters who had never wanted any conflict were brought to the surface to fight. He knew some of them escaped, but a lot have died too. He felt his guilt growing inside again.

"Sometimes, we have to fight.", she said, wrapping each of Frisk's wounds with the bandages. "Even if it's for self defense, I don't really like it. But I've done it, and I know I'll do it again. What keeps me from going insane with guilt is knowing that there are others who are depending on me."

Frisk felt his mouth dry, his guilt coming back to him. He had fought before, and that was basically the reason Undyne had declared war on humanity. However, now he felt he couldn't fight ever again. It would be fine if he was the only one who could get on a tight situation because of it, but the human knew better. What if it came down to Sans, Papyrus and MK's lives depending him, and he couldn't do the necessary to protect them? The world had turned into a "kill or be killed" state of things, yet he wasn't willing to play by the rules. Maybe he had learned his lesson in the Underground.

Or maybe he was just a coward.

"Well, there you go.", said the bunny, smiling to Frisk. He closed his fists and opened them again several times, appreciating the fact they didn't hurt anymore. "The wounds will probably leave scars, but that's not so bad, is it? It's part of your story now."

"I guess.", replied the human, looking at her gentle smile. "Hey, what's your name?"

She seemed to be surprised by the question, and then put her hand on her forehead, laughing nervously.

"Oh god, did I forget to introduce myself?", she asked. "Where are my manners? Sorry, Bernadette Hunnigan is the name. You can call me just Berna though. Yours?"

Frisk felt the sides of his mouth contracting into a smile automatically. A bunny called Bernadette Hunnigan wasn't something you would find on your everyday routine.

"Frisk.", he answered.

"Alright, Frisk.", she said, smiling kindly. "I'll see how dinner is going. You should rest a while, too."

"Okay."

She left the bathroom, leaving Frisk alone there. The human sighed and looked in the mirror. His face was dirty and sweaty. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a shower. During the past month, every time they came across a clean water source, they'd soak a piece of cloth and use it to clean themselves. It served it's purpose of taking the heavy filth away, but it was nothing compared to what a shower would do. Besides, Frisk thought he and his group probably smelled terribly, and were just used to it.

With that in mind, he turned the sink's faucet, and to his surprise limpid water came out from it. He didn't miss that opportunity, and washed his face. It was a small thing to do, but it felt refreshing. He almost felt like someone else entirely after he was done.

Closing the door behind him, the human left the bathroom. Looking at the windows, he noticed it was already getting dark outside. Then, his attention got caught by the door slightly ajar near the bathroom – and the small white bunny behind it looking at him behind it. Frisk had forgotten about them, but the memory came fresh to his head: they were the pink bunny's child. Knowing they had survived the war together with their mother made Frisk feel a soothing happiness. He smiled kindly.

"Hey there.", he said, trying to be friendly. "What's y-"

The white bunny quickly closed the door when they saw Frisk had noticed them.

"Okay...", he said, feeling slightly hurt.

It was a reasonable reaction, though. In the point of view of the little monster, they were all strangers – specially the human. Of course they didn't trust him at all – they had no reason to.

Frisk then proceeded to his room. MK was still unconscious, but now they were snoring lightly, which made the human feel better. Climbing to the upper bed of the bulk, he remembered the purple bunny saying something about the shield spell they had pulled off was a complex and difficult. It probably drained their magic, making them faint from exhaustion. The human wondered when they had learned it.

He laid on the bed – the most comfortable bed he had ever laid on – staring at the ceiling. For a moment, he had no worries as he felt truly safe for the first time in a long time. Maybe that was just what he needed.

He yawned as sleep easily came to him.

* * *

He woke up sensing a familiar smell. Dinner was ready, it seemed. The human rubbed his eyes before sitting up and climbing down the bulk bed. MK seemed to be in heavy sleep, and he decided to leave them be.

As he left the room and entered the corridor, the smell got stronger. It was delicious, and Frisk's stomach growled with hunger. Yet – the smell seemed to do more than remind the human they hadn't eaten in a while. It felt... nostalgic.

The lights were on, and the human wondered where the electricity came from. Normally, he'd worry about the house calling attention with all that clarity, but he knew that with the hiding charms around it they would be safe, specially at night.

He got to the first floor, and by following the smell he managed to find the kitchen. The smell came from a pie baking in the oven. The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was tastefully furnished. A rather large table was on the center, and sitting around it was everyone besides MK – even the little white bunny was present. They looked at him when he entered.

"heya, bud.", complimented Sans. "did ya rest a little?"

Frisk nodded, taking a seat besides the shorter skeleton.

"HUMAN!", said Papyrus, with a somewhat annoyed look. "THEY HAVE SPAGHETTI HERE, BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO COOK IT! SO INSTEAD WE MADE... PIE."

"Papyrus, will you stop complaining?", asked the purple bunny, glancing a disapproving look to the taller skeleton. "I thought it would be a nice dish to share with some fellow travelers."

"EXACTLY, IT'S NICE!", replied Papyrus. "BUT MY SPAGHETTI WOULDN'T BE JUST NICE... IT WOULD BE _AMAZING_!"

"I'm sure it would.", she said, chuckling. "How about we cook it tomorrow?"

When she said that, Sans quickly sat more upright. It was clear he had something to say.

"sorry bonnie.", he said to the purple bunny. "but we don't plan on staying for long. we'll just spend the night and then go. besides, we don't want to waste your supplies."

Frisk couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment. They had found a really nice place to stay. Couldn't they just forget everything and be safe at least for some days?

"But why?", asked Berna. "Where are you heading?"

Sans looked at the human, who shrugged, and then at Papyrus, who simply nodded. Sighing, the skeleton started to patter with his fingers on the table.

"we're after undyne."

There was a moment of silence.

"What?", asked the purple bunny, presumably called Bonnie. " _Undyne_? Are you insane!? Why would you do that?"

"the human can stop her.", said Sans, looking back at the bunny's gaze.

Bonnie looked at Frisk, her eyebrow raised. Frisk thought she must have been confused, considering the human still looked like someone who had just woken up. He felt pathetic.

"How?", she asked.

"he has a powerful soul. if there is anyone who can stop her, it's him."

Frisk didn't believe that – specially if he considered his unwillingness to fight, but he didn't say anything.

"I believe that.", she said, looking at Frisk. "I remember you, human. I didn't know what you were until after you left the Underground. But I did sense something powerful in you. However... things have changed."

"Sis is right.", said Berna. "Monsters have artificially increased their strength to have a chance against humans. Don't tell me you forgot about all the potions and armor modifications the royal scientist invented to help our Royal Guard, Sans."

"i didn't.", replied the shorter skeleton. "but the basic principle is still the same. besides, he's got our help, so i'm sure we can do it."

Yet another silence, in which the two lapine sisters looked at each other. It was clear they didn't believe what Sans was saying. Frisk didn't really believe it either, and Papyrus seemed to be in conflict on whose side to take.

"but i wanted to know about those 'bits and pieces of information' you said you heard earlier.", said Sans, changing to a more relaxed position on his chair.

Bonnie joined her hands in front of her, resting them on the table. It reminded Frisk of Mrs. Magda – the late manager of the orphanage he used to live.

"Well, it might just interest you, since one of them is actually about Undyne herself. But first, it's about the situation of the war.", she started. "It seems many monsters had fallen down already, but they are taking as many humans as they can with them before doing so. That means things are still even for both sides."

"interesting. when did you hear that?", inquired Sans.

"In a nearby town, just before we found this house.", she answered. "no more than two weeks ago. Doubt things have changed. Heard it from a group of humans who were discussing about it. Now, about Undyne..."

The purple bunny glanced at the oven before continuing.

"It seems her magic has gotten more powerful than we previously thought."

"well yeah.", said Sans, shrugging. "i mean, she can enhance or block someone's magic as long as she is within reach."

"It's more than that.", replied Bonnie. "Listen, have you never asked yourself why didn't humans send reinforcements? Why it seems their government doesn't care _at all_ about what is going on?"

Frisk had actually wondered about that. On the rare occasions they met humans, they were always isolated groups who didn't seem to get any outside support. To be honest, he was always half expecting a nuke to drop on the region. Humans and their quick ways to resolve conflicts.

"i'm listening."

"Undyne has cast several protective spells on the region. It makes human technology fail while on air or water. That makes sending quick reinforcements that much harder, as you can imagine."

The shorter skeleton looked to Papyrus, and then to Frisk, who immediately understood.

"The helicopter we saw earlier.", he said. Almost unconsciously, he looked to the white bunny. The small footprints... could it be..?

"welp, so that's what happened, huh.", said Sans, looking to the ceiling.

However, it seemed that wasn't all Bonnie had to tell them.

"There is one more thing.", she said. "The same protective spells she cast have another effect. As you already know, humans don't turn into dust when they die. Their bodies just stay... there."

The human looked nervously at Papyrus, who was paying attention to what Bonnie was saying. A month earlier, the taller skeleton demonstrated they didn't know about that, and neither Frisk nor Sans had the heart to tell them the truth. He wondered if they had discovered it by themselves over the past two months, and if that was the case, if it was for the best they had discovered it alone.

"When a human dies, their souls manage to persist mostly intact. But some leftover elements from the souls – for example, determination – might keep on the body. Well, Undyne's magic is actually extracting it from the bodies and transferring to her. Which means..."

"she grows more powerful everyday.", concluded Sans. "geez, we really need to start moving as soon as possible."

"Is that why the corpses disappear after a while?", asked Frisk. He had not seen that many, which was weird considering the war they were in. However, if Undyne was magically extracting leftover determination from them, it was very possible their disappearance was due to a side effect.

"Probably.", she answered.

Before they could dwell much more on the matter, a 'ding' came from the oven, indicating the pie was ready. Bonnie stood up from her chair and took it out. Its smell was wonderful.

She barely put the pie on the middle of the table and everyone around was sort of competing to get a slice. It was a fun thing to do, and it helped to lighten up the mood after the conversation they just had.

"WOWIE!", said Papyrus as he chewed a piece. "IT IS REALLY GOOD! OF COURSE, WITH THE HELP OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IT COULDN'T TURN OUT ANY LESS THAN THAT! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"s're b'o.", said Sans, his mouth full. "y're the cool'st."

"THANK YOU BROTHER! BUT PLEASE REFRAIN TO SPEAK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!"

Bonnie seemed to have fun watching the two brothers.

"You two manage to stay relatively the same even in this hell we are in, huh?", she asked.

"WELL, OF COURSE!", stated Papyrus. "WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR SPIRITS UP! ONLY THAT WAY CAN WE MOVE FORWARD!"

"Momma, I really liked the pie!", said the white bunny. Surprisingly, they had almost the same voice they had when Frisk first met them in the Underground, even though they were supposed to be six years older. "I don't even know the flavor, but I wanna another slice!"

Berna laughed gently before cutting another piece for her child.

"It's butterscotch-cinnamon, sweetheart. It's a traditional recipe for monsters.", she answered. "But don't go thinking it will always be like this for dinner!"

Frisk could hear the growling from the child and the chatter from Sans, Papyrus and Bonnie getting distant. As soon as he tasted the pie he recognized it, but hearing someone else say it brought back many emotions he thought he had already gotten over with. No, it was never going to be simple, was it? He hadn't overcome his guilt yet. Maybe he never would.

Around him, the monsters seemed to be enjoying the sweet flavor of a finely baked butterscotch-cinnamon pie. To Frisk, however, it just didn't taste as good.


	9. Rain

Frisk woke up with a scream stuck in his throat, his breath erratic and his heart pounding.

He put his hand on his chest, trying to calm down. Breathing in. It had just been a nightmare. Breathing out. None of it had been real.

It was a bizarre one, though. He remembered it had been in first person perspective, but he couldn't control his actions. He felt... empty inside. He remembered Papyrus was in his dream. Undyne too, but she was different. More dangerous, more fearsome and maybe more... heroic? Frisk couldn't make any sense of it, but perhaps there was no use in trying. It was natural of dreams to be weird and unexplainable.

However, that didn't make him feel any better. There was something about that dream that filled him with dread – like he was dealing with a particularly frightening ghost that came back to haunt him.

Perhaps having a glass of water downstairs could calm him down a little.

Being as silent as possible, Frisk climbed down the bulk bed. The curtains were closed, which meant the room was truly dark and he had to grope his way out. He heard MK snoring, and wondered how they would react waking up and finding themselves at that place.

He reached the door and carefully turned the knob making as little noise as possible. The moon cast a pale light on the corridor, making things easier to see in there. Walking on the tip of his toes not to wake anybody up, he climbed down the stairs to the first floor.

As he approached the kitchen door, he heard voices. He didn't know what time it was, but figured it was pretty late. What were they doing by that hour? Well, maybe some company would actually be nice after that scary dream of his.

"Why do you trust him?", he heard Bonnie say.

Frisk stopped where he was, his hand almost having touched the door. Those words didn't mean much alone, but he had the feeling they were about...

"he's good, bonnie.", replied Sans. "i can feel it. he wants this all to end."

"I... wouldn't be so sure of that.", stated the bunny methodically.

That didn't surprise him. Frisk had the feeling that Bonnie wasn't entirely trustful of him, and could understand that, really. Still, hearing her actually say it out loud – to Sans, even – was another story.

"what do you mean?", asked Sans calmly.

"I mean that... I don't know if they want this war to end."

Frisk frowned. What was she thinking? Of course he wanted that nightmare to end. Who didn't?

"Sans, don't look at me with that face.", stated Bonnie. "You have doubts too, right? It just doesn't fit – he's probably the only human, and I _mean_ it, who is traveling with monsters. Any other would be terrified of this very idea, but he seems to be more at ease with monsters than he'd be with other humans."

"i know where you're going.", said Sans, sighing. "you think that they want this war to go on so that monsters have a chance of winning... and humanity of perishing?"

The human leaned carefully against the kitchen door, desperate to hear more.

"Precisely. You thought about it too, right?", replied Bonnie. "Sans, what you told me about him... I mean, _god_ , Monster Kid killed someone he knew and he forgave them just like that!? Would he ever have forgiven that woman if it had been the other way around?"

"dunno...", said Sans, sounding lost in thought. "i don't think so, no. maybe you are right, maybe they _do_ hate humanity. but the human is not stupid. it's also possible that monsters are the ones who will lose the war, which is why, if our deductions are correct, they want to stop undyne."

"Sans, I don't think you get how messed up that kid is."

"bonnie, you don't get how messed up _i_ am, and you're still talking to me."

"This is different!", said Bonnie, raising her voice slightly. "How can you trust someone who's willing to betray their kind just like that?"

"you and i are also betraying our kind, and you don't seem so worked up about that.", said Sans, his voice cynical, yet still serene. "you are being a hypocrite."

There was a silence, long enough for Frisk to notice that he was feeling his stomach burning with what he had just heard.

"I just want this to end.", she said, finally. "And I'm sure you want this to end, too. Maybe not because of the entire monsterkind, but surely because of your brother. Now, the human... they can say they want the war to end, but when time comes, will they do what they have to, or will they just run away and merely watch the events unfold?"

Frisk closed his eyes, afraid of what the skeleton would answer.

"i don't know. what you're saying is very plausible.", answered Sans, and the human felt his heart sink. "i'll just have to believe in him, y'know. besides, he's still guilty about having killed the queen in the underground."

"Regret is not a reliable fuel to make anyone do the right thing.", said Bonnie. "If anything, it causes the exact opposite to happen."

"perhaps.", stated Sans simplistically. "i'll talk to them eventually. they do listen to me, if that's any good."

Another silence. Frisk felt he had just been bludgeoned on the head. He didn't know what to think about what he just heard. He knew now what people meant by saying that some things were better left unsaid... or in this case, unheard.

"Sans, since Undyne started to militarize the Underground six years ago, you and I were part of the few who thought waging war against humanity would be a poor decision.", reminded Bonnie. "And as it turns out we were right. What I mean to say is that I'm not gonna try to convince you to stop... whatever you are planning, but please... be careful."

"don't worry.", said Sans, yawning. "you can't say careful without 'sans' in the same sentence."

"If that was supposed to be a joke, it was a terrible one."

"heh, sorry. i'm just tired."

"Let's get some sleep then. It's late."

Frisk heard the two monsters standing up from the chairs and silently hid behind the sofa. Shortly after, Bonnie and Sans crossed the living room, proceeding to climb up the stairs to their respective rooms, unaware of the human.

He shouldn't have listened to that. His mind was now filled with doubts about Sans and the whole situation – and also about himself. He was sure he believed the end of the war would be the best ending for everybody – humans and monsters. Maybe they could even achieve peace. It would be hard, but it would be possible if they all tried, brick by brick.

Did he really think everybody deserved a happy ending, though?

* * *

"Frisk, what the heck is this place?"

The human opened his eyes. He hadn't been really sleeping at least for the past hour, but he didn't feel like standing up and meeting everyone else. The things he had heard during his eavesdropping were still on his mind, replaying like a particularly annoying movie roll.

"Frisk?"

He looked down to the lower bed. MK stared at him, confused but also relieved by seeing that the human was alright. He could hear the sound of the pouring rain outside, and it made him feel even more melancholic.

"This feels a bit like Snowdin.", said MK, sitting on his bed and looking across the room. A white light outside entered from small gaps on the curtains, lighting the place a little.

"Yeah.", said Frisk, distracted. "It does, huh."

There was a moment in which the human thought the monster was trying to piece things together.

"We aren't in Snowdin.", said MK, looking at the human again, a small hint of doubt in his eyes. "Are we?"

"No.", replied Frisk, sounding distant. "It's... a camp house. Those two sisters from Snowdin, the one who ran an inn and the other a shop, they found this place and settled down here. We activated some traps they had set around the house when we approached the clearing. But they stopped when they noticed it was us, and invited us to stay the night."

"Sweet.", said MK, yawning. "I cast a shield spell, right? But it really worn me out... how long did I sleep?"

"Don't know. 15 hours I guess."

The yellow monster turned their head to face Frisk, now paying more attention to him. He hoped he wasn't looking too down.

"Man, are you okay?", they asked, and Frisk cursed himself mentally.

They looked concerned, but Frisk thought it would be no use to make them worry about that. Besides, MK wasn't the one he wished to speak to about Sans and Bonnie's conversation.

"Yeah. I'm fine.", said the human, sure that it didn't sound very convincing, but fortunately MK didn't press him on the matter. "Let's go have breakfast."

Frisk got out of his bed, climbing down the ladder, while MK simply stood up, suddenly excited.

"Whoa, _breakfast_!?", they gave a big, genuine smile. "We haven't had those in ages!"

Their sudden happiness managed to make Frisk smile a little. He had grown used to not having three regular meals a day, but even him had to admit the prospective was nice.

As long as he didn't have to eat the pie, that was.

* * *

Breakfast was noisy and cheerful. It almost felt like they were having a family vacation rather than hiding from war. Frisk was glad everybody was getting motivated again, but couldn't make himself feel better. It was like everything good had left him – his desires and dreams, his determination – and there were only fear, guilt and doubt left. And only by themselves, those feelings grew to occupy more space inside him.

He finished his meal early and excused himself, telling he was going to get ready as the plan was to leave the place and continue traveling. As soon as he entered the bedroom, though, he simply sat on MK's bed, looking at the rain that feel outside. He wasn't really feeling up to get ready to leave, but it wasn't like there was much he had to do, either. Everything he needed was on his backpack. He wondered if the sisters would give them any supplies if they asked.

There was a knock on the door, which was weird since it was open. Frisk looked and there it was Papyrus. The skeleton took a step forward solemnly, in an almost comical way.

"HUMAN!", he started. "UM... AS IT IS RAINING, SANS SAID IT WOULD BE OKAY FOR US TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT HERE! IT SEEMS THIS RAIN WILL LAST ALL DAY LONG..."

Frisk thought that hearing that should have made him feel better, but it didn't. He nodded to show Papyrus he understood, but the skeleton didn't seem to be done yet.

"WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, RIGHT?", they said, expectantly. "WE CAN HAVE SPAGHETTI TONIGHT! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk forced a smile, but he was sure it looked horrible, because Papyrus frowned instinctively when they saw that. They quickly recomposed though, and started to rub a hand against the other, as if thinking about something to say. The human looked the other way, attempting to hide a frustrated look. He just wished to be left alone.

"HUMAN...", they started again. "THERE IS A MATTER I WANTED TO DISCUSS WITH YOU..."

The human looked to the skeleton again, this time curious. Papyrus looked a bit nervous, and Frisk wasn't used to see the skeleton like that. Something was bothering them, and he wanted to know what it was. They walked towards the human and sat next to him on the bed, looking to the floor.

"UM... REMEMBER...", began Papyrus, still unsure of how to proceed. "REMEMBER WHEN I TOLD YOU ABOUT HOW I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD HUMANS WERE JUST LYING DOWN WITH KETCHUP OVER THEM, AND HOW IT SEEMED THE STREETS WERE ALL STAINED WITH KETCHUP?"

Frisk shivered and looked to the window again. Of course he remembered. It happened on the day the skeleton brothers had found him in an empty town – the day after the war had started.

"THAT... WASN'T KETCHUP, WAS IT?"

It sounded more like an affirmation than a question. The human looked to the taller skeleton. They had a sad and disappointed look, but for some reason they were smiling. Frisk simply shook his head.

"I'VE SUSPECTED THAT FOR SOME TIME NOW.", stated Papyrus, looking at Frisk's bandages on his palms. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU TOLD ME ANYTHING?"

If Frisk was to be honest, he'd say he had been afraid of Papyrus' reaction with the information. That he wanted to preserve what innocence they managed to keep in that cruel world – but the human knew, in the end, that it had been a dumb decision. Everyone had to face reality in the current state of things, and the taller skeleton was no exception – but fortunately, they were willing to do it.

"LISTEN, HUMAN...", continued Papyrus. "I'M AN ADULT, OKAY? YOU SHOULDN'T BE HIDING THINGS FROM ME. YOU DON'T NEED TO PROTECT ME THAT WAY. BESIDES, SANS KEEPS THINGS FROM ME ALREADY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT TOO!"

The human had nothing to say. The skeleton was completely and undeniably right.

"JUST... PROMISE ME YOU WON'T TRY TO HIDE ANYTHING FROM ME AGAIN, OKAY?"

He felt his mouth dry, remembering the conversation he had with Sans at the shore some days before. Nevertheless, he looked Papyrus in the eyes before nodding in agreement.

"Promise.", he answered. The skeleton smiled kindly and pat the human in the shoulder.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN!", they said, standing up. "I'LL GO SEE IF THE LADIES NEED ANY HELP WITH ANYTHING HERE! SEE YOU!"

And with that, the skeleton cheerfully exited the room, humming that same tune they would hum every now and then. It had a funny rhythm, like a march song that came straight from a cartoon. It matched Papyrus' personality perfectly.

He looked to the window again, gazing at the rain that fell. He still felt sad and demotivated, but at least now he could feel a tiny little ball of hope inside him. Maybe everything would turn out alright in the end.

Some time passed before the human started to have the feeling there was yet another presence in the bedroom. He looked to the door, expecting to see MK, or maybe Sans, but found the white rabbit – Berna's child – instead. They were holding a small package which Frisk recognized to be a Cinnamon Bunny, identical to the one Papyrus found in the crash site. They looked shy and unsure of what to do.

"Um... hey.", they greeted, looking more to the pastry than to Frisk. "May I come in?"

Frisk could detect they were slightly afraid of him, and couldn't blame them for that. But he decided to show there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Sure.", he replied, smiling, and it came much more naturally this time. "What you got there?"

The rabbit walked to Frisk's direction in small, careful footsteps, still looking more to the Cinnamon Bunny than to him. They stopped in front of him and offered it.

"It's a 'Cinnamon Bunny'.", they answered. "Aunt Bonnie bakes those. They are really good. Momma said you were looking a bit sad and told me to give you one."

 _God_ , was he that transparent? He should be more careful in the future. Nevertheless, he decided to take the pastry, looking to the package. They were just like the one they had found the day before, no doubt about it. That meant...

"That's really nice of her. Tell her thanks for me.", he said, smiling kindly, while the white rabbit nodded. "You look cool, too. What's your name?"

The compliment seemed to get through the lapine, their stance changing to a more relaxed one.

"Boone.", they said. "What's yours?"

"Frisk.", the human replied. "I think this is a really nice house, Boone. But how did you manage to keep electricity in here?"

The human asked that more as a way to pick the white rabbit's interest, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't even a tiny bit curious about that. He hadn't seen real, functioning electricity since the war had started – and to find it on an abandoned camp house was a bit odd.

"Oh, that was mom!", replied Boone, their eyes sparkling with pride. "She used her magic to activate a thing that she and aunt Bonnie found behind the house! What was it called..? Oh, right, a 'genenator'!"

Magic seemed to be a common answer to explain all sorts of things monsters did – apparently, it could even activate "genenators". He tried to conceal a snort by coughing, looking at the Cinnamon Bunny, thinking of another thing he wanted to ask the white rabbit about.

"So, magic explains anything, right?", he said, tilting the pastry in front of his eyes. "Can it explain how was it we found a Cinnamon Bunny exactly like this one in the forest, yesterday?"

That obviously took the rabbit monster by surprise – they opened their mouth intending to reply, but closed it shortly after and looked to the ground.

"Please don't tell my mom. I like to walk around because there's nothing to do here. It's boring." they said, their voice low and shameful. "I always come back without anybody noticing."

"We found it near a wreckage.", said Frisk, taking care not to mention the word "helicopter", as he doubted Boone would understand. "Did you see it?"

"There was something catching fire there.", they replied. "When I saw it, I ran away. I must have dropped the Cinnamon Bunny then. I didn't have anything to do with it! Honest!"

"Hey, don't sweat, I believe in you.", said Frisk, his smile turning a bit mischievous. "I also won't tell your mom. I've done my count of running away in the past, too."

Boone looked up to the human again, smiling.

"You're cool.", they said, making Frisk chuckle. "Have you fought many bad guys? In this war?"

He thought for a moment. Who were the bad guys? Humans? Monsters? No – Frisk knew better than that. In a war, there weren't things like "heroes" and "villains", only "losers". But he was talking to a child, and had been enjoying the conversation. It wouldn't hurt to play along.

"Yeah, I have.", he said, making the best brave face he could manage. "I saved my friends countless times during the past two months!"

Boone was clearly impressed, although not entirely convinced. They glanced a skeptical look to the human, eager to know more.

"Really?", they asked. "How'd you do that? Can you do magic?"

"No, but...", Frisk thought for a moment, then pointed to his head. "I saved them using my wits. You know what they say, brains over muscles... or magic."

"You're too bruised to be really smart.", they said blatantly.

Right in the ego.

"Hey, I am _very_ smart, ok?", he replied, still smiling. "Don't judge a book through its cover!"

Frisk could tell the lapine still wasn't convinced, but at least they seemed to be more at ease with his presence. They looked at him from top to bottom, thinking of something. The human merely waited.

"Come with me.", they suddenly said, walking out of the room. Frisk looked at the doorway, puzzled, and after a while Boone reappeared, with an excited look in their eyes. "Come on! While the grown-ups are still in the kitchen!"

Frisk stood up hesitantly, but followed the rabbit. They both went down to the first floor on the tip of their toes. The human heard chatter coming from the kitchen, so there wouldn't be anybody in another part of the house at least for a little while. Boone led him to the entrance, and opened the door.

"Wait, are we going outside?", asked Frisk, looking to the pouring rain. "We'll get soaked!"

The lapine monster made a dismissive noise with their mouth.

"Relax, we are just going to the back of the house.", they replied.

"What's on the back of the house?", asked Frisk, curious.

"I'll show you. C'mon!", commanded Boone, stepping outside. Frisk followed them.

They ran around the house, Frisk keeping his hand over his head in a futile attempt of maintaining himself somewhat dry. He noticed everything a few feet away from him seemed to blurry and mend with the background, making it hard to see. So that was the collateral effect of protective charms – one that almost cost his and his group's lives.

Boone led him to a shed close to the cabin, and proceeded to open it. It seemed to be unlocked as the lapine did so with ease, and Frisk walked inside. The rabbit entered after him, closing the door behind.

It was a small shed, with a simple desk with some rusted tools on it by its back. However, what Boone wanted to show him wasn't on the desk, but above it.

"I saw humans using things like that one.", they said, looking at the shotgun hanging on the wall.

Frisk felt his heart race and his head get a little dizzy as he approached it. The gun looked usable, to say the least, and even if Frisk didn't know how to fire, it would be useful to have it for self defense. He often felt that, being the only in the group who couldn't do magic, he was the most vulnerable one. A firearm surely would turn things around. But did he really want to carry a shotgun with him?

He looked to the desk and spotted something among the tools that he hadn't seen before – a small handgun. It showed signs of time, but looked fine otherwise. He picked it up, and was surprised by how light it felt. Maybe that would be a more sensible option to pick – not nearly as powerful, but easier to use, and it could provide him with the defense means he just needed.

"You can defend your friends better, now!", said Bonnie. "Take it, it's not like we'll use it anyway."

Frisk glanced at the bunny monster, who had a happy, confident look. They had trusted him way to quickly to show him something like that. Of course the human had no intention of harming them, but if in his place there had been someone with ill intentions... things probably wouldn't have turned out nicely.

It was tempting to grab at least the handgun, but Frisk didn't want to make the wrong impression nor get Boone in trouble for what they'd done. The best thing to do was to leave everything where it was and...

"I should ask your mother and your aunt for permission to take it.", he replied. "When we leave tomorrow."

Boone looked down, back to their shy and unsure self.

"Okay, but... don't tell them I... showed you here, okay?", they asked, hesitantly. "They'll be mad."

"I won't. I'll just say I found the shed by chance."

The human winked, and Boone smiled again. Frisk then noticed what he just did and rolled his eyes. Maybe he had been spending too much time with a certain skeleton. The rabbit didn't catch the motion.

"Let's head back to the house before they miss us.", stated the human. Boone nodded energetically and opened the shed's entrance, and the two ran into the rain once again.

They weren't out for long – maybe two, or three minutes at most – so Frisk was surprised when he and the rabbit entered the house once again and were greeted by Papyrus, who was running down the stairs and gasped when he spotted the human.

"I FOUND THEM!", yelled the skeleton. "THANK GOODNESS!"

One by one, everyone in the house started to appear in front of them, coming from all directions. MK and Sans appeared upstairs. Bonnie came out from a door which Frisk reckoned led to some sort of basement. Berna came from the kitchen, her face marked by tears, looking relieved and extremely angry at the same time.

The human wanted to hide himself due to embarrassment. Of course something like that would happen. Why had he agreed to follow Boone in the first place?

"Boone... Hunnigan..!", said Berna, looking at her child and putting her hands on her hips, her voice trembling. "What were you _thinking_ going out like that!? It's dangerous!"

The white rabbit looked to the ground, shifting their weight on their feet.

"W-we didn't leave the per-perim... perimeter of the protective sp-", they tried to say, but their mother cut their sentence.

"The protective charms aren't perfect!", she said loudly, making Boone flinch. "God, what if someone had seen you!? Someone who wanted to hurt you!?"

Nobody said anything – there wasn't anything to be said, in fact.

"UM... HEY, THEY WERE WITH THE HUMAN!", stated Papyrus as that would make everything alright. Frisk wished they wouldn't say anything. "I'M POSITIVE THEY WOULD BE ALRIGHT!"

"What could a nine year old rabbit and a teenager possibly do against someone intending to kill!?", said Berna, glancing an angry look at the taller skeleton, who in turn looked to the ground too. "And you..."

She glanced at Frisk, looking more disappointed than angry, but he wasn't sure if that was better. He knew what he did was irresponsible; he knew the world wasn't exactly a safe place, especially for children like Boone.

"You are coming with me to your room.", she said to her child, her voice sounding restrained this time. "We need to talk."

Boone simply nodded and followed their mother, still looking to the floor. They went upstairs, while everyone else looked to different parts of the living room, trying to look interested in trivial details of it. Frisk decided to take the chance and climb the stairs to his room, grabbing a towel in the bathroom on the way.

He entered his room, towel drying his hair and his face as he sat down on MK's bed once again. The human felt remorse – he couldn't begin to imagine the amount of worry Berna must have felt when she noticed her child was gone. Maybe his mother – or even Toriel – would have done the same if they were alive. He was sad once again, feeling he couldn't do anything right.

"sometimes i have the impression you think you are above the consequences.", Frisk looked to the entrance of the bedroom and found Sans leaning against the door.

"I got it. I know I shouldn't have gone outside with Boone.", said Frisk, coldly. "I don't need _you_ to tell me that."

Sans had that eternal grin on his face, and merely shrugged at the human's words.

"can't say i don't get why you keep doing this.", he said, looking at the pouring rain by the window. "you seem to have a hard time believing there are people worried about you now."

"Yeah, I see...", replied Frisk, acidly. "You get how 'messed up I am', right?"

Over the past two months, the human learned that even the usually calm and collected skeleton couldn't hide what they thought all the time. Sans understood immediately what Frisk meant, and spent some time in silence, clearly uncomfortable, trying to think of something to say.

"welp... that's awkward. you shouldn't overhear other people's conversations, ya know."

"You shouldn't 'talk about someone who's listening'."

"technically, you weren't supposed to be listening, but...", began Sans, sighing. "but sorry, anyway. we didn't mean to offend you."

Frisk wanted to reply that _oh_ , he was very offended. But he didn't. He'd be offended if he thought someone was spreading lies about him, but the human sincerely didn't know if that was his case. He didn't know what to think of himself.

"No offense taken."

The skeleton kept by the door, not saying a word, but not making any motion to leave, either. Frisk wanted to say something, to ask questions he knew Sans couldn't answer, but he needed to get them out some way.

"i like the sound of the rain."

Frisk looked at Sans, who were with their eyes closed.

"Rain is nice when we are inside, isn't it?", said Frisk. "Because when it rained and we were in the open it didn't feel very good."

"heh, true. still...", said Sans, opening his eyes again. He had a distant look, like he was thinking of something far, far away. "i'm still glad about it. it didn't rain in the underground. welp, except in waterfall, but that doesn't really count now, does it?"

Some things on the surface were taken for granted by the human, and he frequently forgot that fact. Even with a war taking place, he could see Sans enjoyed what nice little things he could find there.

"What are we doing, Sans?", he asked, hopeless. "Can we really stop Undyne?"

"i don't know, but we can't let things keep going like this."

"But what are we gonna do _afterwards_?", the human questioned, a hint of despair on his voice. "After we... kill Undyne? We've been working towards this idea because we think that, leaderless, the monsters will stop fighting, right? But what are we gonna do? Do you intend on becoming a king or something?"

The skeleton chuckled, as if he had heard a little, clever joke.

"me? king? now that's _hilarious_.", they stated. "no, frisk. it's you who'll play an important role on this if we ever manage to take undyne out."

Frisk looked to the skeleton, puzzled. They had never really spoken of what they were intending to do, but it seemed the time had come. There was no use keeping it hidden. Postponing the preparation would only be dangerous in the future.

"What?", was the only thing that came to his mind.

"i'm not saying you should be the king. that's not even possible, heh.", explained Sans. "what i mean is... we need someone that can guarantee not only the monsters stop fighting, but the humans do that as well. an ambassador of sorts. and who's better for the job than a human who has befriended some nice monsters, huh?"

Sans was smiling, but Frisk knew they were serious about that idea. To the human, however, it sounded like a joke of poor taste. How could he be an "ambassador" after everything he'd done?

"I'm... I don't know...", said Frisk, insecure. "Pretty much all monsterkind hate me because of Undyne's propaganda."

"i thought so too, but did you forget what bonnie said yesterday?" said Sans, winking. "a lot of monsters are just hiding. if they are doing that, i'm certain they at least have doubts if the human child that crossed the underground six years ago is actually a vicious murderer, as the empress tells them. listen, i'm not saying monsters will _like_ you as an ambassador, but it's not like they'll have any other choice. they'll have to take it. it's either that or going back into the underground."

Frisk thought for a while. Maybe Sans was right, but it was still a shot in the dark. It could work, but at the same time it could turn into another disaster of tremendous proportions. And Frisk was well acquainted with disasters.

"despite everything... you can still be what everyone needs for peace, frisk.", said Sans calmly. "you are the link necessary for better times. for a better future."

The human didn't quite understand all that. It was a lot to process, after all. He didn't understand throughly why Sans wanted peace to be achieved so badly – but he was glad they did, even if it meant difficult times were ahead. He decided to press on, hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. As always, forward was the only way to go.

The soothing sound of the rain pouring outside filled him with determination.

* * *

He was drowsy. He was also... happy?

Frisk looked to the ceiling of the bedroom, his conscience slowly coming back to him. Something had woken him up. He felt warm inside, like he just had a good dream. What was it? He wished he could remember.

Then, the sounds of things breaking downstairs, alongside the familiar buzzing of offensive magic made him sit upright on his bed, his body automatically tensing up. _That_ was why he had woken up. Something wasn't right.

The sounds kept going on for a while, and he heard voices. He distinguished Papyrus' piercing one, and maybe Bonnie's, as well as a couple ones he never heard before. Suddenly, it all stopped, leaving a dead silence lingering in the air.

"What's going on?", whispered MK, his voice tone indicating fear.

"I don't know.", replied Frisk, whispering too.

The human climbed down the ladder, and felt MK standing up next to him. He could see their outline even though the room was absolutely dark.

"We have to check if the others are alright.", the human stated, trying not to tremble his voice.

"O-okay...", the monster replied.

Walking on the tip of their toes, the two reached the bedroom's door, opening it silently. They walked the corridor alongside the wall, attentive to even the minimal sounds. Frisk led the way, and MK followed him closely.

"Hell yeah! Undyne's gonna love this!", said a gurgling, deep voice. Another voice laughed joyfully, saying something the human didn't understand.

Frisk stopped suddenly, making the yellow monster almost bump into him. The boys looked at each other, confused. Anxiety increased inside the human. They had been found, apparently, but how?

They walked carefully until they reached the mezzanine of the upper floor. Frisk could sense movement below, so he crouched and MK did the same. They kept themselves against the wall just before the mezzanine, hiding. Frisk took a peek.

He saw, with an increasing horrification in his heart, Bonnie, Berna, Sans and Papyrus kneeled on the floor, hands on their heads, completely defeated. Walking around them were two monsters the human had never seen before. One of them was a blue flame that sort of looked like Grillby, the gentle owner of a bar in Snowdin, though more buffed up. The other one was a giant green pile of goo that had only one eye. They had no legs, and when they moved they made a slimy sound. Both monsters were wearing Royal Guard's armors and carried spears.

"You know that _not_ fighting is even worse than joining the humans, don't you, you pigs!", said the blue flame monster. Their voice sounded as if someone was whispering a bit too loudly.

"You'll be arrested for crime of treason!", said the blob monster. "If you do anything funny, we'll kill you, hear us!?"

Frisk glanced back at MK, who seemed to be just as helpless as he was. The human felt sick. What were they going to do?

"Wait a minute...", suddenly said the blue flame. Frisk peeked once again and saw them kneeling to see Sans and Papyrus' faces. "You're the two skeletons from Snowdin! You were with the human trash!"

For a brief moment, Sans glanced above to the mezzanine, and Frisk was sure the skeleton had seen him.

"sorry, bud. don't know what you're talking about.", said Sans, his voice full of irony. "i _hate_ humans. like, i think they should all disappear and be replaced with flame and blob monsters."

The blue flame stood up and walked in front of the shorter skeleton, who looked up to the fire elemental. Then they quickly slapped him in the face, making a burning sound. Frisk flinched and Papyrus screamed.

"SANS! NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

The monster simply slapped Papyrus' face too. It was probably the first time Frisk saw someone actively hurting the taller skeleton while Sans didn't do anything, and he could see that killed them inside.

"Think twice before saying anything, now!", said the blue flame, turning to the blob monster afterwards. "I'll check if there's anyone upstairs. You stay here."

Just as they finished the sentence, Berna raised her head, a desperate look in her eyes.

"No... please... my child..!", she choked on her own words. "Don't hurt them, please!"

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie.", said the blob monster, giving a menacing smile. "We won't do anything to them, as long as you're willing to... pay a little price."

The blob touched Berna's face, who closed her eyes, trembling.

" _Stay away_ from my sister.", said Bonnie, her voice dangerous.

"Oh, we have a fierce one here, I like it!", said the blob, heading towards the purple bunny. "Maybe you can join us. It'll be fun!"

That was completely and utterly repulsive – Frisk felt he was about to throw up. He clenched his fists, determined to not let anything bad happen to anyone. He looked to MK, who looked just as disgusted with what they had just heard.

"Whoa, man, get a hold of yourself!", said the blue flame, laughing. "First I'll check if there is anyone hiding. Then you can do _whatever_ you want with the prisoners. Undyne won't need to know that."

The clock was ticking and there was no time to lose. Frisk signed for MK to go back to the corridor, and they quickly understood. The human led the way once again, proceeding to Boone's room, his mind racing to find a means to escape that situation.

Frisk could hear the fire elemental climbing the stairs with steady, decisive steps. Fortunately, Boone's bedroom was by the end of the corridor, so with some luck that would be the last one they'd check. With a surprising precision, the human carefully turned the doorknob and entered the room, praying the white rabbit wouldn't scream or call attention.

It seemed the child kept the windows open, so the little light that came from outside entered the room. As MK stepped inside, Frisk silently closed the door. The two looked around and quickly found Boone sat by a corner, shaking. When they noticed someone had entered the room, they froze for a moment, but then they noticed who it was and stood up, walking towards them.

"Frisk!", they mumbled, their voice shaky, throwing their arms around the human. He patted them in the head, attempting to provide some comfort, though he felt a bit awkward.

"Undyne's lost control of her army.", said MK with a restrained anger. "What that guy said to Berna and Bonnie... I can't even..!"

"What?", said Boone, letting Frisk go. "My mom? What are they gonna do to her?"

"They aren't gonna do anything.", said Frisk, decisively. "We have to do something!"

MK looked to the door, as if expecting the fire monster to burst through it at any moment, which wasn't really a far-fetched possibility.

"We don't have much time...", they said.

"They know Boone and I are here.", stated the human. "But they don't know about you. You can be our element of surprise."

"What? So we're going to _fight_ them?", asked MK skeptically. "Man, I'm still recovering from yesterday. I can't do much. And I don't think the kid can do much, either."

Boone looked down, a bit let down from the comment.

"It's true.", they said. "I don't know offensive magic..."

Frisk put his hand on his head, thinking. They had to come up with something quick before the situation got worse. He reckoned a surprise attack would be dangerous, but it was the only thing they could do. However, if MK had problems summoning his magic, things could take a turn for the worse easily.

Then, the idea hit the human. If offensive power was what they were lacking, he knew just what they could do to increase it.

"The shed.", he said, looking at Boone, and then at MK. "There are guns there. Do you think we can defeat them if I assist you with those?"

MK thought for a moment.

"Maybe? We might overwhelm them. How do we get to the shed, though? We can't just walk through the front door."

Frisk looked around, and his sight locked onto the open window. He walked towards it.

"Oh, no.", said MK, realizing what the human was thinking. "No no no. Frisk, _no_!"

"Frisk, _yes_!", he replied, looking outside and spotting a roof drain pipe running alongside the wall, near the window.

The yellow monster seemed almost to be about to throw a fit, but knew they couldn't do that.

"I. Don't. Have. Arms..!", they said.

"Then hide!", replied Frisk, turning around to face the two monsters. "You and Boone hide somewhere. I'll go to the shed and fetch the guns. Try not to be caught, and after the fire monster goes back to the first floor, head back to the mezzanine. We'll sneak on them, and on my sign we attack. Got it?"

MK gulped. It was clear he was trying to come up with something better, but couldn't. He kept glancing nervously to the door.

"What a crappy plan.", he said.

"That's it, then.", replied the human, taking it as an acceptance. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah, whatever. C'mon, Boone, let's hide."

The rabbit mumbled something as Frisk sat on the window's edge, looking below. He had never been afraid of heights, but he felt a little faint as he noticed the second floor was pretty far from the ground. He took a deep breath. He needed to do this.

He raised his arms to the left, grabbing the pipe firmly. He then made a maneuver he didn't know he could do, and found himself with both his feet pressed against the wall. He gave one step, and then another. That turned out to be surprisingly easy, even for him. It felt weirdly exhilarating to defy gravity in such a manner.

When he stepped safe and sound to the ground, he looked above, not believing what he just did. Oh well. That had been probably his determination taking action again.

The air felt sultry and stale, and the plants on the ground were humid because of the rain that kept falling during day. As he ran to the shed, his footsteps made a squishy sound, but he doubted anyone inside the house would hear them.

When Frisk finally reached the shed, he opened its door, panting. He walked decisively towards the shotgun hanging on the opposite wall. There was no time for hesitation. He picked it up.

It felt heavy. How did that thing work? It was hard to see in the dark, even with the door open, and he cursed himself for not bringing his flashlight along. He turned it around in his hands (being careful not to accidentally point it towards himself), trying to find the loading port. He pressed a button he found to be promising, and to his surprise the shotgun barrel "opened", letting him check the ammunition. It was empty.

He tossed it to the ground, frustrated. It was useless. He leaned against the table, trying to find maybe some spare ammo, but there were only the same rusty tools he had found in the morning – and the handgun.

He grabbed it. It wouldn't pack the same punch the shotgun would not even remotely, but he'd have to deal with it. Frisk fiddled with it for some time before finding a button to unload the magazine, that fell to the ground. He kneeled to recover it and looked at it against the dim light from outside. He counted four bullets, and sighed. Well, those were his resources, and he'd have to make it last.

Reloading the magazine back into the handgun, he grasped it firmly on his left hand, and clenched the other in an attempt to make it stop shaking. On that very moment, he still had doubts if he would ever be able to do what he had to end the war, but he couldn't let that stop him. There were people – or monsters – who depended on him, and he wasn't about to give up on them because of some internal conflict.

The time to fight had finally come.

He stepped back outside and walked slowly, but decisively to the front door. He crouched every time he passed by a window from the first floor, as he could not afford to be seen, and when he reached the entrance, he almost gasped. Not only the door, but also some of the wall nearby it had been destroyed, almost as if it had exploded. The human looked back, and noticed he could see the clearing perfectly fine. The protective charms had been disabled, but how did that happen?

Frisk couldn't dwell on that – there was a plan to be put on action. He gave careful steps into the house, his ears attentive, trying to pick up any sound clues of what was going on.

"I... don't... know!", he heard Berna's voice, trembling.

"LIAR!", yelled the fire elemental, and Frisk heard them slapping the pink bunny. "You told me yourself your child was here! Where are they!?"

Frisk was crouched against the wall, and peeked into the living room where everyone was taken hostage. Apparently the fire monster had not found MK and Boone, and looked infuriated. At least that part of the plan had ran smoothly, but now Berna was taking the blame. The blob seemed to be taking joy in observing the situation.

The human glanced to the mezzanine, but didn't see anyone. Perhaps MK was hiding by the wall nearby it as them and Frisk had done just moments before, which was smart, but also meant he could not be sure if the yellow monster was there.

"They... they were supposed to be there..!", replied Berna, her voice shaky. "I really don't know where they are..!"

The fire monster raised their arm, as to slap the bunny once again, but stopped mid-act. Instead, they crossed their arms and sighed. They didn't look angry, but disappointed. Frisk instinctively tensed up.

"Very well.", they simply said.

Suddenly, they grabbed Papyrus harshly and made him raise from the ground. Sans stood up immediately, and although he was with his back turned to Frisk, the human knew his eye was glowing that well known eerie glow.

"pap..!"

Before Sans could do anything, the blob monster spilled a strange goo towards the skeleton's face, and it hit its right side. It made a burning sound, and he fell to the ground, screaming and contorting. Frisk felt his heartbeats increasing drastically, and had cover his mouth with his hand so his erratic breath wouldn't be heard.

"SANS!"

"You think this is some kind of game, human lover?", asked the fire elemental, authoritative. "Now, if you value your friend's life over here, you'll tell me where the child and the human are."

They put the point of the spear on Papyrus' neck. The skeleton had his eyes fixed on his brother, who had stopped screaming and slowly stood up, kneeling where they had been.

Frisk's hands were cold, and he held the handgun tightly with both of them. It was now or never. If he kept holding back any longer, the consequences could be permanent. He stood up and pointed the weapon at the fire monster, putting his finger on the trigger. They seemed to notice the motion and glanced a look towards the human, giving a step back in surprise.

"What the..!?"

He pulled the trigger, and with a loud "bang" the gun fired, but missed its target by several inches. His whole body was shaking with the shock and the adrenaline.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Several orange glowing spears appeared around the fire and the blob monsters, and stood pointed at them for a moment before launching. The fire one released Papyrus and dodged, while the blob one took the hit, but it seemed to cause not much damage.

However, that was all they needed. Bonnie quickly stood up and waved her arms in a circle, summoning a purple ball of energy which she fired against the fire monster, who launched a blue fire ball that hit the bunny's spell. Both attacks split into several smaller attacks that launched in all directions, and Frisk had no throw himself to the ground to avoid being hit.

Sans summoned several sharp-looking bones and started to attack the blob monster with quick, effective and furious attacks. Papyrus, despite normally lacking the intent of hurting anyone, joined his brother. The latter became overwhelmed and couldn't counterattack.

Bonnie and Berna were both casting magic spells at the fire monster, and despite their talent with it, their opponent seemed to be just as skilled as them and managed to counter every attack.

Frisk caught a glimpse of someone running down the stairs, and couldn't help but smile as he saw MK summoning several more spears, assisting the group. It was only a matter of time before the Undyne's soldiers would succumb to the attack and would flee or...

"That's ENOUGH!", yelled the fire elemental.

An explosion burst out from the fire monster's body, knocking everyone back with force. Frisk hit his head on the floor, but fortunately didn't pass out, though he felt dizzy as he stood up once again, his vision slightly blurry. A burnt smell filled the human's nose.

Only when a piece of the roof fell right beside him did he shake his head in an attempt to quickly clear his thoughts. Several parts of the room were on fire, and as the house was wooden-made, things were rapidly crumbling and falling apart.

The fire elemental ran past everyone, though he didn't bother dodging the flames he had caused, as expected. The blob monster followed behind with a surprising speed, and the fire didn't seem to affect the goo that composed its body as well. Bonnie shot some spells at them, but they escaped the house through the front door.

"You..!", she yelled, running after them.

"Sis!", screamed Berna, raising an arm towards her sister. "Wait! Boone! Where are they!?"

However, the purple rabbit had already left. The flames were getting out of control – they needed to leave. Frisk ran towards the pink rabbit and helped her stand.

"Go help Bonnie!", he stated, looking her in the eye. "I'll find Boone!"

She looked at him, unsure if whether she should trust him or not. Frisk looked her in the eye with the most determined look he could manage.

"Go!", he commanded, and she hesitated one more time before she ran after her sister.

In the middle of the chaos, the human managed to hear a faint sound from a battle going on outside. He ran towards the stairs, but stopped in the middle when he noticed the flames had partially destroyed it, making it impossible to reach the upper floor. MK was sitting down right next to the crumbled part, with an expression of pain.

"MK!", he said, kneeling next to the yellow monster, who looked at him in turn. "Are you okay? Where's Boone?"

They looked down for a moment, as if disappointed with themselves.

"I don't know... They were upstairs, but... dammit!"

Frisk felt a deep dread filling his heart, which turned into pure despair as more of the roof started to crumble around them. He stood up, glancing upstairs.

"Boone!", he called. "Boone! C'mon!"

But no one came.

He felt the adrenaline rushing through his body. Soon, it would be too late – he had to do something at that exact moment. He couldn't let Boone die there. Berna had trust him to rescue her child, and he wasn't thinking on disappointing her.

Looking at the upper floor, he took some steps back and positioned himself in a running stance. A long jump would be necessary to reach the upper floor, and if he fell he'd be swallowed by the flames, but he _had_ to do it. MK looked at him confused, and when they noticed what he was about to do their expression turned into a horrified one.

"Dude, what..!?"

The human was already running. The thought of saving the white rabbit filled him with...

"nope. you'll just end up killing yourself."

Sans appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Frisk by his shirt and stoping him from jumping.

"What? No!", said the human, facing the skeleton, annoyed. "Boone..! They're... _whoa_!"

The right side of their face was brown in color, burned by the acid the blob monster had spilled at them. It looked like it hurt a lot, but they didn't seem to pay much attention to it.

"look, frisk. i get you're very determined and all, but you'd never reach the top of the stairs.", replied Sans, his expression serious. "listen, i'll go get the kid. pap is outside helping berna and bonnie. you and mk just get out of here. now. there's no telling when this house is gonna crumble."

"How do you intend..?", Frisk attempted to inquire, but with a whooshing sound Sans disappeared before he could finish his question. "Oh. Right."

He looked at MK, who simply looked back at him with a sense of urgency in their eyes. The human had no choice but believe Sans and hope Boone would be alright. For now, all they could do was get out of the burning house before it fell over them.

"Can you stand?", asked Frisk.

"I... I think I broke my ankle.", said MK, looking at his right leg, his voice shaking a bit. "I don't know, maybe it's just fractured or twisted."

"Here, I'll help you.", said the human, helping the monster stand on their feet. "Just lean against me and we'll get the hell out of here!"

Frisk wrapped his arm around the yellow monster's torso and they both began unsteadily walking down the rest of the stairs. That would have definitely been easier if MK had arms, but they had to keep going no matter what.

As soon as the two reached the bottom of the stairs, more pieces of the roof fell. Their eyes burned, and the smoke from the fire filled their lungs, making it hard to breathe. The house's entrance wasn't far – they just had to keep going a little longer.

The human tried to go as fast as he could, but MK had to drag their foot, slowing them down considerably. The walls fell behind them, consumed by the fire. Frisk calculated they had maybe seconds to get out of there. He couldn't give up – he could even see the entrance, there was only a small corridor left to cross.

He could almost feel the fresh air beyond the entrance when part of the wall crumbled in front of it, partially blocking the passage. The debris was half Frisk's height. He had to fight not to let panic take over his mind.

"Damn! We're... so close!", he said.

MK coughed. They struggled to release themselves from Frisk's grasp and looked at him, sorrowful.

"You should... should have left me.", they said. "I just slowed you down."

Their voice was slower and lower pitched than normal. Frisk himself was starting to feel dizzy and faint. They would pass out there – if the house didn't fall apart first.

No. They had come too far to just die there. They couldn't give up just yet – not until the very last moment.

"You... idiot.", said Frisk, grabbing MK with both his arms, looking at them straight in the eye. "I said... I'd never leave you behind. Let's... go!"

With a boost of strength he didn't know where it came from, Frisk jumped past the debris that blocked the entrance, taking the yellow monster with him. In the future, the human would have difficulty explaining how he pulled that stunt just when he was about to faint. Somehow, he did it. The fresh air from outside felt like it disintoxicated his lungs. The dizziness stopped. As he lied in the grass, the thought crossed his head. They were fine.

They were alive.

As Frisk stood up, his legs a bit shaky, the house crumbled right in front of his eyes, consumed by the flames. It was so bright it hurt to look, and from where they were it felt just as hot as when they were inside it. Their luck was that the cabin was in the middle of a clearing – otherwise a big forest fire would surely have followed.

"Frisk..!", yelled MK.

He looked behind just in time to dodge a pile of slime that had been thrown at him. Suddenly, he could hear the sounds of offensive magic being thrown around again. Inside the cabin, he was so focused on escaping that any other unrelated sounds passed completely unnoticed by his mind.

Just a moment after, Papyrus, Bonnie and Berna appeared in front of him and MK, facing the fire elemental and the blob monster. They were all panting from the battle they had been having.

"HUMAN!", said Papyrus, not taking his eyes out of their enemies. "WHERE'S SANS?"

"Where's Boone?", asked Berna.

Frisk felt his mouth dry, and it wasn't because of the heat produced by the fire that burned behind them. His mind was racing, and he felt slightly sick. What could he tell them?

"Where's. Boone.", repeated Berna, glancing a desperate look at the human, who just looked down. "Oh my g-"

"Mom!", yelled a voice from their right.

Frisk almost cried with relief. The white rabbit was running towards them, an skeleton wearing a blue hoodie just behind. Boone reached their mother, hugging her from behind. One could tell she felt immensely relieved, but instead of hugging her child back, she gazed at the Undyne's soldiers once more.

MK had stood up and limped, getting next to Frisk. Sans stood by the human's other side, grinning like usual. He was wearing his backpack – did he fetch it as he was rescuing Berna's child from the house?

"How beautiful!", said the fire elemental, giving a smile full of malice. "Everyone is here! We can have a family party!"

The human put his left hand on his pocket, feeling the handgun he had left there. It wasn't over – those intruders wouldn't leave them alone so easily. He gulped. He didn't want to fight for a number of reasons, but knowing his friends were in danger left him with no other choice.

"Leave _now_.", said Bonnie dangerously, her hands shining with a purple-glowing magic.

"Oh, but why should we?", they replied. "We were called here in the first place!"

Frisk blinked a few times. Did he hear that right?

A drop of cold sweat ran by his forehead. If they were being honest, that meant that someone in the cabin had...

"If you insist.", replied Bonnie coldly before glancing a look to Sans, who was behind her. "Sans, you and your group need to leave immediately."

" _What_!?", said Frisk before the skeleton could reply anything. "No way!"

Everyone was fully focused on their opponents, except Frisk and Bonnie. The purple rabbit sighed. It was clear she was unsure of what to say. Frisk had mixed feelings about her, but leaving her to fight alone with Berna was something that never, ever crossed his head.

"Frisk...", she said, and the other held his breath. It was the first time she called him by name. "When I look at you, I don't know if you're more human... or more monster. But right now it doesn't matter. The guys you've been traveling with believe you can help to put a stop to all of this, and I have no choice but believe in them. That's why you must leave!"

The human opened his mouth, trying to reply something, but the words never made it outside, so he closed it again. Bonnie, in turn, simply shifted her attention to the guards.

"don't worry, bonnie." said Sans, calmly. "i know i'm right."

"You _better_ be.", she grunted.

"alright guys, just hold me now.", said Sans, grabbing Papyrus' hand and offering the other one to Frisk. "hold mk, buddy."

Frisk hesitated a little before grabbing the shorter skeleton's hand and wrapping his other arm around MK.

"What!?", said the fire elemental. "No! They are leaving! Quick!"

They started attacking once again, but Bonnie and Berna counterattacked perfectly, not allowing their enemies' attacks reach them. The multicolored lights from the magic made the scene look like some sort of lethal fireworks show.

"GO!", screamed Bonnie.

"hold on tight!", warned Sans.

Frisk knew what was about to happen. He had teleported with Sans before – or as the skeleton liked to say, he had already taken one of their "shortcuts". He squeezed their hand and held MK even tighter with his other arm.

With another whooshing sound, the human felt his head spin and, for a moment, it seemed as if the ground had disappeared beneath his feet, his vision shifting and turning as they got far away from the ferocious battle that they left behind.


	10. Anomaly

Frisk had teleported once with Sans before. The skeleton took him from the Waterfall entrance to Grillby's in Snowdin. The distance between the two locations was so short that the "shortcut" felt totally unnecessary, and that was why he wasn't fond of it.

At first, it's feels like they are free falling, spinning at a high velocity. Then, the limbs become numb, proceeded by a feeling like being squeezed into a small bottle and then taken out again. Finally, the destination is reached. The ones used to teleportation normally do so graciously. The ones not so used to it normally fall with their face flat to the ground.

Naturally, the human fit in the last category, so he just hit the ground with a loud thud, and heard the same happening to everyone else (with the exception of Sans, obviously). As he started to be able to feel his limbs once again, his torso aching from the fall, he got up, wiping the dirt out from his clothes.

It was dark, but they were clearly in some kind of forest. Where did Sans take them?

At the same time, he worried about Bonnie, Berna and Boone. Frisk knew the purple rabbit told them to leave, but he still thought leaving them behind was a bad idea. The two sisters were really talented with magic, but perhaps that wouldn't be enough. And Boone... they must have felt so scared there. The human thought they could have at least taken the white rabbit with them.

Suddenly, he began to hear someone breathing rapidly, growling with pain. He looked around and saw MK laying down on the ground, Sans and Papyrus kneeled next to him. The taller skeleton held a flashlight while the shorter one searched frantically for something in their backpack. A sense of foreboding installed within the human's heart as he walked towards the group.

"F... Frisk...", said MK, noticing him approaching. Their voice sounded thin and it trembled, like they were feeling pain, or were scared. Or maybe both.

"Hey.", greeted the human, worried. "What happened?"

Papyrus looked to Frisk, and Sans merely glanced a look before continuing to search for things in his backpack.

"apparently...", began the shorter skeleton, his voice tense. "you shouldn't take shortcuts if you have fractured or broken bones."

He took some bandages out of his backpack as Frisk looked to Papyrus, confused. The taller skeleton sighed as they pointed the flashlight at MK's ankle. Frisk felt his stomach twist as he saw it.

There was a bone protruding from their ankle, a greenish liquid pouring out from the wound (maybe it was their 'blood'? Frisk couldn't tell for sure). The bone seemed to have fully snapped, and probably pierced the yellow monster's skin during the teleportation.

"I... I can't feel...", babbled MK. "Can't feel my leg... Frisk, what's going on?"

Frisk wanted to say everything would be alright, but his voice seemed to be gone. He kneeled by their side, next to Sans, who pulled the rum bottle from their backpack.

He had forgotten about that. Sans took it from a department store they looted in the beginning of the war, intending to use it as an antiseptic. Papyrus seemed to be shocked when he saw his brother carried that around.

"What are you gonna do?", asked Frisk, gulping.

"put his bone back in its place.", said Sans, taking a look at MK's wound up close. "we don't have much time. if we're not quick enough, we'll have to amputate it."

Frisk noticed his hands were cold, and closed them in an attempt to get them warmer. They were shaking too. Actually, his whole body was shaking.

"A-am...putate?", said MK, panic clear on his voice. "P-please... no... do something!"

"i'll try.", said Sans, looking sorrowfully to the yellow monster. "but i'm not gonna lie – this is gonna hurt as _hell_."

The prospective of having their ankle amputated seemed to be scary enough because MK didn't hesitate to nod energetically. He seemed to be about to cry, and that broke Frisk's heart.

"pap, frisk.", called the skeleton. "hold him tight. _don't_ let him move around, understood?"

Papyrus nodded and held MK's legs against the ground, while Frisk pressed their chest with his hands. It probably didn't inspire confidence in them as the human's arms were shaking.

He looked away when he heard Sans opening the bottle. The skeleton gave a little sigh before pouring the rum on the wound. Almost immediately MK let out a piercing scream of pain, and Frisk felt their body instinctively shaking, trying to break free from his and Papyrus' hold. It lasted some seconds, and after that they just kept shaking violently, sobbing.

"okay, okay...", said Sans, trying his best to keep calm and not let the situation get the best of him. "just... hold on there, mk. it'll be over soon."

Frisk looked at Sans as they put the flashlight in their mouth and positioned their hands around MK's ankle. He understood what was about to happen, and closed his eyes.

As Sans began to rearrange the bone to put it back on its place, MK started to scream once again. This time, however, it didn't last mere seconds, but a lot more. They shook and twisted with more force, and Frisk almost let them go a couple of times, but held on tight. He had to stay strong. He had to stay determined.

It probably didn't even last a minute, but that dreadful moment felt like it took an eternity. Eventually, Sans managed to put the bone back, immediately placing MK's ankle under a flat wooden plank and wrapping it tightly with the bandages. The yellow monster stopped shaking, but occasionally would let a hiccup or vocalize something, his voice weak from screaming.

"done."

Papyrus let MK's legs go, and Frisk did the same. The reptilian monster, however, made no motion to sit, and just kept on the ground, taking deep breaths.

"YOU... YOU DID GREAT, MK.", complimented Papyrus, giving them a weak smile, but MK didn't even glance at the skeleton.

Sans stood up, stretching out his bones as he did so. He walked towards a nearby tree and sat again, leaning against it. Papyrus kept at MK's side, and Frisk sat down where he was, wrapping his legs with his arms. He felt incredibly tired – the amount of things they had gone through in the past hour was unbelievable.

"Where are we?", inquired the human, breaking the silence.

"i'm not a hundred percent certain.", said Sans. "but we've been here before... maybe last month."

Frisk couldn't help but feel slightly demotivated by hearing that information.

"So we've come _back_?", he asked, not even attempting to hide the disappointment on his voice.

"hey, i can only take shortcuts to places i've already been.", replied Sans, defending himself. "and this one was the first that came to mind. besides, we were probably a bit too close to undyne, as you can tell by what happened tonight."

It was probably true, but now they were a bit too far from her. They'd never reach the empress, specially with a wounded MK. That meant the war was still far from being over. However, he didn't say anything to the shorter skeleton. They were likely feeling as frustrated as he was, even if they took them there it was in an attempt to protect everyone. The human couldn't bring himself to complain about that. He decided to change the subject instead.

"The protective charms.", he said. "They weren't working. And that fire guy said something about 'being called'. Who... who did it?"

Frisk felt anxious when making the question. He trusted the monsters he'd been traveling with wholeheartedly, and the mere thought of one of them betraying him hurt. The mood got uncomfortable.

"BERNADETTE.", replied Papyrus. "SHE WAS THE ONE WHO DEACTIVATED THE TRAPS AND THE PROTECTIVE SPELLS AROUND THE HOUSE. WE WERE IN THE LIVING ROOM WHEN BONNIE INQUIRED HER ABOUT IT. AND THEN, SUDDENLY, THEY BURST THROUGH THE ENTRANCE. WE COULDN'T DO A THING."

Papyrus looked down, extremely sad.

"Why would she do such a thing?", asked Frisk, not believing. Berna seemed to be such a kind monster, why would she backstab them?

"she had contacts with the royal guard.", replied Sans, dryly. "she probably felt you were a threat to her child because of what happened in the morning. i bet she didn't expect all that to backfire at her, though."

Of course that was it. In the end, it was always Frisk's fault. Always because of his stupid mistakes. And Sans still hoped he could be an "ambassador". What a cruel joke.

Still, he couldn't feel angry at Berna. He simply worried over her, her sister and her child. He wondered if they were still fighting. Perhaps they had already dealt with the situation. Or maybe they had been captured. Or killed. He shivered.

"SANS?", asked Papyrus, his voice a bit unsure. "UM... WHY HAVE YOU BEEN CARRYING ALCOHOL WITH YOU?"

Frisk held his breath. The shorter skeleton had asked him not to tell Papyrus about the rum they had picked up at the department store, but now that card too was laid bare on the table.

"makeshift antiseptic, pap.", said Sans, and Frisk was glad to hear a clear note of honesty on his voice. "and just that. honest. you saw the bottle was full, right?"

Papyrus seemed to be in conflict whether he should believe Sans or not, but in the end, he could probably feel his brother wasn't lying. At least not that time.

"RIGHT.", he replied. "I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"thanks, bro.", replied Sans, sounding a little happier.

At that moment, MK made a motion and slowly stood up from the ground. He pressed their wounded leg against the ground, testing the improvised curative. His face flinched a little, but he didn't make any complaints, so that was probably something.

"How are you feeling?", asked Frisk, concerned.

"Like crap.", said MK. "But thanks a lot, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you."

It was possible to hear the gratitude on their tired voice, and it made Frisk feel a little better. They slowly walked to a nearby tree, limping, before sitting down and leaning against it, like Sans had done before.

After a while, Sans stood up and started walking towards the yellow monster. He sat next to them, who in turn looked at him, probably confused. Frisk and Papyrus just watched, not sure of what was going on. For a while, nobody said anything, and the human could almost tell the shorter skeleton was feeling embarrassed.

"so... uh...", said Sans, scratching his head. "what you did tonight... i mean... you were really brave there."

Frisk would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised by that. Sans giving a genuine compliment to MK wasn't something to expect. The shorter skeleton would normally either give them a neutral treatment, or be ironic at them. Nevertheless, the human smiled.

"i know we didn't start... this... really well. at all.", continued Sans. "and i've been a jerk to you a couple times. i didn't trust you. but tonight, how you and frisk saved us... i'm sure now you're trustworthy."

"SANS...", said Papyrus, clearly happy with the moment, but Frisk just poked them in the arm. It was better if they didn't say anything there.

"um... so...", said Sans a while after his brother's interruption. "i'm willing to put it all behind us, and start all over again."

Frisk's smile grew wider, even though nobody could see it in the dark. MK kept in silence, probably having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

"Sounds nice, numbskull."

The human wanted to laugh with joy, but that would probably just embarrass everybody, so he settled with just laying in the ground, relaxing. Papyrus shifted his look from Sans and MK to him, confused.

"HUMAN?", they called. "ARE YOU GOING TO SLEEP HERE?"

"leave them be, pap.", said Sans, standing up once again. "we're all 'bone tired', heheh. let's camp here. sunrise must not be far, anyway."

Frisk closed his eyes, still smiling. His heart still felt heavy, but he wasn't feeling down. He felt more determined to find Undyne and end that war – even if it would all come down to kill or be killed.

For the first time, the four felt united not as simple friends, but as true brothers.

* * *

"Sans worked with the royal scientist!?"

Frisk almost dropped all the sticks and wood planks he had been carrying. The sun was setting, and as MK still couldn't walk too much, they would settle down in the forest much earlier than they used to. As the yellow monster and Sans guarded the place, the human and Papyrus ventured themselves deeper into the woods to find material to make a small fire.

As they walked, they'd do all sorts of small talk. Frisk's favorite bands, Papyrus favorite dishes (all of them involving spaghetti, of course), cool trivia about the Underground the human never knew about, things like that. Somehow, that day the conversation topic shifted into Sans, and Frisk was utterly shocked about what he had heard – if he had heard it right.

"YES!", replied Papyrus, his eyes beaming with pride. "HE MAY NOT LOOK LIKE IT, BUT HE'S REALLY SMART!"

Sans was indeed smart – he always pulled a (bad) joke in the moment it presented itself. However, Frisk had difficulty believing that very same skeleton knew physics and science stuff too well. Then again, he showed the human the constellations back when the war had just started, so there was that.

"It wasn't Alphys, though, right?", asked the human. Frisk had the feeling the skeleton and the now deceased royal scientist were at least acquainted, but couldn't picture Sans working for her.

"NO, NO! HE AND ALPHYS WERE PUPILS OF THE ROYAL SCIENTIST AT THE TIME!", replied Papyrus, picking up a plank from the ground. "DO YOU THINK THIS ONE IS GOOD?"

The taller skeleton waved the plank in front of him. It looked slightly wet, but he reckoned it would burn okay in the fire.

"Seems cool.", said Frisk. "Anyway, who was the royal scientist before Alphys?"

Papyrus frowned, as if he was trying to remember something he had long forgotten.

"I DON'T... KNOW?", he said, confused. "IT STARTED WITH "W". WILL? WALE..? THAT'S STRANGE... THEY BUILT THE CORE AND A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER THEM!"

It was weird, indeed. If they built the core – the source of energy for the Underground, they should have been really famous. Papyrus would surely know at least their first name. Why didn't he?

"How did Sans end up working in the lab?", asked Frisk. After all, that was what he was curious about, forgotten royal scientists aside.

Papyrus looked down, deep in thought, reminiscing about his past and Sans'.

"HIS FIRST JOB WAS AS A JANITOR IN THE LAB. I THINK THAT WITH HIS... SENSE OF HUMOR... HE MADE FRIENDS WITH EVERYBODY THAT WORKED THERE, INCLUDING ALPHYS AND THE ROYAL SCIENTIST. BUT THAT ASIDE, HE HAD ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN SCIENCE. HE NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL, BUT HE'D STUDY WITH ME, AND HE LOVED THOSE PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY STUFF!"

So Sans' job that took he and Papyrus from the streets was none other than as a janitor in the royal lab. Frisk never expected their first job to be of a stand-up comedian, but working at a science lab didn't seem to be fit for the shorter skeleton.

"I THINK THE ROYAL SCIENTIST NOTICED SANS KNEW A LOT ABOUT SCIENCE-Y THINGS, SO THEY TOOK HIM AS THEIR PUPIL WHEN HE TURNED 19." they continued. "I REMEMBER THEY CAME HOME REALLY HAPPY THAT DAY!"

Frisk picked up some more sticks nearby a tree, catching glimpse of a snail going up its trunk. It made him remember _someone_ who used to like snails, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

"And what did his work consist of?"

Papyrus made a stereotypical thinking face, which made them look even more like a cartoon character.

"UGH, I DON'T KNOW!", they said after a while. "AT FIRST IT WAS ALL ABOUT FINDING A WAY OF BREAKING THE BARRIER WITHOUT HUMAN SOULS. THEN IT SHIFTED TO BE ABOUT... TIME... TRAVEL..?"

The skeleton sounded really unsure. Frisk snorted.

"What?", he said, skeptically. "Time travel? Is that... even..."

Possible? The human was ready to mock that very idea. Time travel was absurd, but... he suddenly felt that somehow it... made sense? It felt like he was forgetting an important information.

"I KNOW! I'M NOT SURE I'M RIGHT, TO BE HONEST! YOU BETTER ASK SANS IF YOU'RE CURIOUS! AS GREAT AS I AM, SCIENCE IS NOT FOR ME!"

That snapped Frisk out of his thoughts. Maybe the war was starting to make his brain melt. Of course time travel was impossible – the general idea of time travel, at least. Besides, he still wanted to know a few more things about that part of Sans' life.

"I THINK THIS IS ENOUGH FOR A GOOD FIRE!", said Papyrus, energetically. "LET'S GO BACK TO THE CAMP!"

The human nodded in agreement, and they both turned around, starting to make their way back to the rest of the group. They walked in silence for a while, as Frisk had the feeling he was about to bring up a touchy subject, but he decided to ask it anyway. He reckoned Papyrus was more prone to answer it sincerely than Sans.

"So uh... how did you guys end up in Snowdin?", he asked a bit hesitantly. "I mean, you were both working as sentries when I met you six years ago, and Sans never mentioned anything about working as a scientist."

Papyrus gave a little sigh, but kept their kind smile nonetheless. Frisk knew then he was right – the reason Sans stopped working at the lab was probably not a happy one.

"THAT WAS MY IDEA.", they replied. "FIVE YEARS AFTER SANS STARTED TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE ROYAL SCIENTIST, AN ACCIDENT HAPPENED AND... AND I THINK THEY PASSED AWAY."

"You... think?", asked Frisk. It was weird Papyrus wouldn't be sure about such a vital information.

"YEAH, I... THAT MAKES SENSE, I GUESS!", they replied, frowning. "SANS WAS REALLY, REALLY UPSET ABOUT THAT, AND HE STARTED TO WORK A LOT MORE. THERE WERE DAYS I WOULDN'T EVEN SEE HIM GET HOME, AND WHEN I DID, HE'D USUALLY BE... REEKING OF ALCOHOL, AND I WOULD HAVE TO HELP HIM GET TO BED."

So that was why Sans wanted to keep the rum bottle a secret – Papyrus probably didn't have fond memories of alcohol, and Sans didn't want his brother to think he had started drinking again. Frisk imagined how the taller skeleton felt when they'd see their brother drunkenly getting home.

"THEN... WHEN ALPHYS FILLED IN THE POSITION OF ROYAL SCIENTIST, HE JUST QUIT THE JOB.", continued Papyrus. "I THINK THEY FOUGHT OR SOMETHING, BECAUSE SANS NEVER SPOKE TO HER AGAIN. THAT WAS WHEN I GOT US JOBS AS SENTRIES AND MOVED TO SNOWDIN TOWN. YOU KNOW, TO START OUR LIVES OVER! IN TIMES LIKE THOSE, WE MUST REMAIN POSITIVE!"

The skeleton smiled, and Frisk smiled back. That was _so_ Papyrus. The human was glad to be with them – the past months would have been unbearable otherwise.

But something Papyrus said struck the human as odd. Maybe Sans and Alphys did fight, but have they really never spoken to each other again? He remembered when he asked the shorter skeleton how did the monsters break the barrier, and they seemed to know an awful lot about Alphys' experiments. Perhaps they had gotten back in touch with each other after Frisk left the Underground?

He wondered if Sans would be open about all that if he asked him. But Frisk knew for a fact the skeleton was trying to talk about their past, little by little, so the best he could do was go for it and follow Papyrus' example, maintaining a positive attitude.

* * *

They had no choice but to carry on and walk through all places they had already been to reach Undyne – although MK's condition slowed them down considerably. Still, giving up or leaving the yellow monster behind were not options in none of their heads.

Almost three weeks after the cabin incident, the group reached a town they had already passed by in the past – and now it felt even more like an empty shell of what it used to be. The place felt dead, and they probably were the only live souls wandering those streets.

"We're only here _now_?", asked MK, clearly disappointed.

Frisk could not blame them for being upset. Basically a month of traveling had been wasted, and they were trying to redo it. To make it worse, Sans' "shortcuts" were out of question – at least until the reptilian monster's leg fully healed. The human himself was feeling a bit down, but he gave his best, most determined smile anyway.

"Hey, we can't stop now, can we?", he said. "How's your leg?"

MK glanced at their leg, making small movements with it.

"Sometimes it hurts.", they said. "But it's healing fine, I guess."

Sans and Papyrus had walked a bit further, looking attentively at the windows of the houses and shops. The taller skeleton signed for them to keep close.

"this place is empty.", said Sans, intrigued. "remember the last time we were here? the human patrols?"

"YEAH! WE ALMOST MANAGED TO SNEAK PAST THEM!", said Papyrus more cheerfully than it would be appropriate for such a memory.

"That wasn't fun.", stated MK, gloomily.

"welp, good for us that we don't have to go through all that again.", said Sans, shrugging. "let's just be careful."

With that, they started to wander around the city. They always checked before turning a corner, their eyes and ears attentive to the slightest of motions. However, that time nobody ever came.

As twilight colored the sky with a mix of orange and purple, they decided to search for a house to settle in for the night. Frisk was actually excited about that – every opportunity they had to sleep in a place other than the woods had to be taken gratefully.

They decided for a small house located in what the human presumed to be the downtown. As soon as they entered, he noticed a thin layer of dust covered almost everything, indicating it had been sometime since someone had lived there. Nevertheless, they had to check if there wasn't anyone hiding.

It was a fairly simple home, so the four of them wouldn't take much time checking it. Frisk walked past the kitchen and the living room, and into the bedrooms. One of them had a king sized bed, so he presumed they were in a place that once was home to a couple, perhaps with a small child, considering the other bedroom. He checked under the bed and the closet, finding nothing strange, as expected. However, as he turned around, his sight locked onto a big map of the region that was hanging in the wall, scribbles all over it.

The human walked closer to it, curious. The markings seemed fairly recent. One of the cities had a big circle drawn around it, and a small note under it. He squinted his eyes to read it, and at first it didn't make any sense, but as realization sunk in, he felt his heart starting to pound.

 _Queen there? Gotta take her out._

 _Heading there with the team._

 _\- Leo J._

"Sans!", he called, his voice shaking a little. "Papyrus! MK! There's something weird here..."

His message was a bit vague, which made the rest of the group come rushing to where he was, thinking that maybe the human had actually found someone there. Frisk merely pointed to the map, and Sans was the first one to approach it, their pupils fixed on the circled city and the message. Their expression remained neutral, much to Frisk's nervousness.

"Please tell me this is not what I think it is.", pleaded Frisk, his voice with an almost childish tone.

Sans looked at the human, their everlasting smile still not giving in.

"yep, pretty much."

"UM... WHAT IS... WHAT?", asked Papyrus, his own question confusing him.

"we're not the only ones after undyne.", replied Sans, closing his eye sockets. "whoever was here has already set foot at finding her, and somehow had a lead at where she is."

MK stepped into the room, looking at the map as well. Suddenly, all the color drained from his face.

"But... but that's...", he babbled, looking at Frisk desolated. "That's on the other side of the region. We'll never reach them before they do."

The yellow monster sat on the bed, looking to the floor.

"I _knew_ I was just slowing you down.", he said with a pessimistic tone on his voice. "You should just leave me here and teleport back to the clearing. It's not too close from that city, but at least then you'll have a chance."

"WHAT!? NO WAY, MK!", said Papyrus, putting his hands on his hips, almost looking angry with the reptilian monster's suggestion. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NEVER ALLOW YOU TO BE LEFT BEHIND!"

"i'm with pap, buddy.", said Sans, winking at him. "you won't see yourself free from my wonderful jokes any time soon, y'know."

MK just looked at the skeleton brothers with a look of disbelief.

"If those humans reach Undyne before we do...", they began.

"there is a possibility they'll kill her, in which case we monsters will be sent back into the underground, and it'll suck.", completed Sans. "but we're not leaving you behind, mk. we'll find a way to get there quickly. you'll see."

Frisk wondered if Undyne could take on a group of well armed humans. She had grown more powerful for sure, but the possibility she'd fall on the wrong hands and make everything be in vain was really stressing. However, MK didn't need to know about that. Besides, the human would never consider the possibility of leaving them behind, so he smiled, trying to show confidence.

"Hey, let's forget about all that for now.", he said, changing the subject. "Let's search for anything that might be useful here. Then we can eat."

They didn't find much, though – some old cookies and molded bread, and that was it. Searching some markets the next day would be wise – but as three months had already passed since the war started, it was becoming more and more difficult to find fresh supplies. They had to try it, anyway.

They divided their rations for the day and ate, making small talk as they did so. Usually, Papyrus would make a remark about the place they were in, and Sans would manage to make a pun out of it, making Frisk and MK roll their eyes and the taller skeleton almost go insane, and that time it was no different. It never got old.

As night went on, they decided it was time to turn in. That time, Sans would start the watch, and it would surely be monotonous since the town was empty, but they couldn't take any foolish risks. As Papyrus and MK went to the rooms, the human threw himself in the sofa, while Sans sat on a chair nearby.

Frisk was tired, but there was something about being the only human alive on a desolated town that made him extremely uncomfortable. His mind wandered to Bonnie's words he heard weeks before – " _he was probably the only human traveling with monsters, and was totally okay with it"_.

Thinking about Bonnie made him feel bad. He could only hope they were alright, but inside him there was a little voice that kept saying they hadn't met a happy fate. It was another guilt on his pile, alongside Toriel's death and... well, that whole war.

"can't sleep, huh, buddo?", said Sans.

Sans sat backwards on the chair, leaning their torso against the chair's spine, legs thrown at its sides, glancing at the human. Frisk just looked back, unaware of how much time had passed.

"No...", he answered, as if it already wasn't obvious enough. "I'm thinking about... well, I'm thinking about _them_."

The skeleton made circular movements with his head, his bones rattling as he did so.

"no use crying over spilled milk.", he stated. "it's not like you need another thing to feel guilty about, anyway."

"I can't help it!", said Frisk, almost annoyed. It was easy to just tell someone not to feel guilty over something. "I... ugh... why is this so hard?"

Frisk scratched his eyes. Damn, he _was_ tired. He would probably look like a zombie the next morning.

Sans kept in silence, not sure what to reply. They kept like that for a while. Frisk, however, didn't want to be quiet. For some reason, when it was too silent, he felt some bad, weird feelings growing in his chest, almost as if he would explode. He hated it – it was like being a time bomb. He had to get it out somehow, but how to start it?

"Sans?", he called, his voice low. "Do you... think I'm a bad person?"

The shorter skeleton looked puzzled, turning their head a little to the side.

"what makes you think that?", they asked.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling, I guess. I have enough reasons to feel like that, so..."

Sans sighed, looking to the ground as he did so.

"you're asking the wrong person, bud.", he replied, giving a half-hearted smile to the human. "i'm pretty much a bad person myself."

"I think you're awesome.", said Frisk almost instantaneously. Sans chuckled, a bit surprised with the answer.

"welp, _that_ i am, right? but despite that...", said the skeleton, closing his eyes. "everything i do is for selfish reasons. even when i'm helping pap... it's not like i'm saving him. i'm saving myself."

Frisk had motives to disagree with that, but trying to make Sans see that would be complicated, and he lacked the energy to do so. MK was right – they _did_ have a thick skull.

"Have you told Papyrus?" he inquired. "About you not being biological brothers and... you know, the rest."

Sans opened his eyes again, but didn't make eye contact with the human.

"no, i haven't had the... opportunity to do so."

Frisk knew that wasn't true, and by the way the skeleton hesitated, they didn't believe in that, either. However, the human could tell that Sans was very afraid of being rejected, or that Papyrus wouldn't look at them in the same light anymore. It was a very rational feeling – but Frisk was sure the taller skeleton would understand everything. But then again, he wasn't the one who had to tell it. He decided to change the subject.

"Papyrus told me you used to be a scientist."

Sans grinned, amused by the fact the human had discovered that.

"heh, it was no big deal. i never went to school, after all.", they said, shrugging.

"You worked with the royal scientist!", said Frisk. "Don't try to say it was no big deal."

The skeleton smile widened, and their eye sockets made a movement that was similar to an eye-brow raising.

"wow, so you _really_ talked about me, huh?"

Frisk's face went red from embarrassment. He felt like a hypocrite.

"Sorry..."

"hey, no biggie.", they dismissed. "my story and pap's are pretty much intertwined, so when you talk about one, you talk about the other."

That was something everybody could agree with. The two skeletons were together pretty much everywhere, or at least they knew what each other was up to. Biological or not, they were true brothers.

Sans rested his chin on his arms, that were crossed over the chair spine. He had a nostalgic look on his face.

"yep, i worked with the royal scientist.", said Sans. "cool guy. very smart. he enjoyed my science puns, but only periodically."

The skeleton stopped for a moment, expectantly, and only after a few seconds Frisk noticed why. The human face palmed.

"God, Sans. _Why_?", it was the only thing he managed to say.

Sans gave an earnest laugh.

"c'mon, throw me a bone here, that was a pretty good one.", stated the skeleton, winking. "anyway, where was i? Oh yeah, the royal scientist. doctor wingding gaster. did a lot of great things and all."

"Yeah, _that's_ something I can't understand...", said Frisk, scratching his eyes. His head was starting to hurt. Great. "I never heard of him when I passed through the Underground... and he seemingly was the one who built the entire Core. I don't know much about it, but wasn't that the source of all energy down there? I figured the guy behind it all would be pretty famous."

He was glad to be talking about that – the mysterious royal scientist's oblivion had been puzzling him for a while. If there was anyone who could give him some answers, it was Sans. They, in turn, changed to a somewhat darker expression, and the human knew something bad had happened.

"there was an accident.", replied the skeleton, the light in their eye sockets dimming slightly.

"What kind of accident makes someone be almost completely forgotten?", asked Frisk, almost jokingly. Had Dr. Gaster done something bad, like those celebrities that would appear in shameful episode after shameful episode, until nobody would talk about them anymore? The human doubted a scientist would do such a thing, though.

"he got shattered across time and space.", said Sans as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

It took a while for those words to be fully processed by Frisk's brain.

"Oh... uh... what?"

There was a moment of silence, when neither Frisk nor Sans knew what to say next. The human put his hand on his forehead – his headache was getting worse, and that conversation certainly wasn't going to help it, but he wasn't thinking on backing down.

"um, how can i put this into words?", said Sans more to himself than to Frisk. "like, at the time dr. gaster, alphys and i – we were doing experiences with... um... you can say it was time travel."

"Time travel?", asked Frisk, skeptically. It looked like Papyrus hadn't been wrong, after all.

"we were trying to make it so the barrier would never have been made.", explained Sans.

"By going back in time?", he asked, confused. "That's insane!"

Sans chuckled, and Frisk knew he had said something stupid. He felt dumb, but the whole thing was a bit too far-fetched for him to just believe in it that easily. He couldn't be sure if the skeleton wasn't just pulling a prank on him, either – which would be annoying, but not unexpected.

"i wish it would have been as simple as 'going back in time'.", said Sans, looking down pensively. "time is an _amazing_ thing, frisk. remember when i asked if you believed in alternate timelines, way back then?"

Of course Frisk remembered. It was the night he had told Sans what really had happened in the Underground six years before. The human simply nodded, a bit afraid of what the skeleton was going to tell him.

"you were almost right.", said Sans, looking at him with a spark in his eyes, like they were talking about something they really enjoyed. "you said something along the lines of 'when we make a decision, another universe is created for the alternative we didn't pick'. you were in the right track, but it's not that plain and simple. when we make a decision, hundreds of thousands of alternate universes are created, each with its own variables. some are really similar to each other, while others are radically different. and the most amazing thing we discovered is that they aren't static – they keep going on, with the people in it living their lives, unaware of all of this."

His head was really pounding now. That was a lot to take all in one go. But there was another thing... he remembered something Sans had told him on that same night they had brought the alternate timelines up, and felt his heart sinking a bit.

"Ok, I understood. I think.", he said simplistically, though not with much confidence.

"heh, i imagine this might be all a bit overwhelming.", replied the skeleton, looking to the ground again. "welp, the point is, we weren't trying to go back to the past... we were more like trying to find a timeline in which a war between humans and monsters never broke. it was difficult to find it, because even if it didn't happen when we know it happened, it would just happen anyway at a later point. but we did it. it existed. it was real. the perfect pacifist timeline."

Sans tapped his fingers on the chair. Frisk could tell that the whole timeline stuff really excited him.

"our plan was to merge that timeline with ours. to do that, we'd need something to work as a link. after some research, we discovered that link had to be a live, sentient being. that meant it would have to be either me, alphys, or gaster. theoretically speaking, to mend the timelines would be like picking up two pieces of thread and tying a knot to join them together. we could send, i don't know, a robot to do the job, but if they messed up we didn't know what sort of disaster could happen."

Sans slowly stopped tapping his fingers. His expression became less bright and more somber again.

"we built a machine that would allow one of us to go merge the timelines. we knew it would probably be dangerous, but we were _so_ close to breaking the barrier, or making it like it never existed, we couldn't back down.", said Sans, his voice calmer. "when it was completed, i volunteered to be the one, but dr. gaster didn't allow me. he wanted to go instead. he said that i was young, with a whole life ahead of me, while he was old and didn't have much to lose."

Sans gave a pause to the story, and Frisk could identify true sorrow in his expression. The human knew what was going to happen, too.

"he entered the machine, and we turned it on, full of hope.", they continued. "but dr. gaster never came back. for months, alphys and i attempted to find him across the timelines, and to be fair we did find some traces, but they were images and messages that didn't make any sense. i'd like to believe that he died but... i think what happened to him was _much_ worse than that."

That was a dark ending for someone who seemed to have been a brilliant scientist. Frisk wondered if Gaster was alive, hidden away somewhere between the timelines... he wondered if they were aware of what happened to them, or if their conscience shattered, not live, but not dead either. The human shivered with the thought. A fate worse than death, for sure.

"and the worst part is that everything remained the same, with one exception. everyone just... forgot about dr. gaster." said Sans, his voice filled with grief. "no, forget isn't the right word. it was like he had _never existed_. some kept with a faint memory of a royal scientist who built the core, like pap, but the majority of monsters just forgot everything about him. just like that. even alphys ended up forgetting... and i'm afraid someday i'll forget too."

Sans had a serious expression. Frisk had seen them like that a few times now, but he would never get used to it. The human felt sympathy for the skeleton – it was clear Dr. Gaster had been someone Sans once admired deeply. To see someone like that be forgotten must have been heartbreaking.

"when a monster dies...", said Sans after a while. "their soul vanishes almost instantly – unlike a human soul, which remains somewhat intact. memory... is the only way a monster can keep existing in our world. that's why... why i..."

They couldn't complete it, but Frisk understood. The human had never seen Sans so upset before, but was happy they told him all that.

"I know him now.", said Frisk, trying to sound comforting. "I won't forget him."

He had never met Gaster before, so he didn't know if it counted, but Sans looked at him with gratitude, anyway.

"thanks, buddy."

They remained silent for a while, the thing Frisk remembered a while before still bugging the back of his mind.

"Sans?"

"yeah?"

"The timeline in which I...", Frisk didn't know how to put it into words. "Which I saved everybody from the Underground. After everything you told me now... it's real, right?"

To the human's surprise, the skeleton seemed unsure of what to reply. It was a logical question – did they have any doubt about it?

"yeah, it is.", they replied, stretching their bones. "but there's no use complaining we're not in it."

Somehow, Frisk felt they were hiding something from him. They weren't lying, but they weren't telling the whole truth, either. There was something more to that – something that was missing, but what was it? The human could feel a memory sprouting in the depths of his mind, but he couldn't make it clear. Plus, his headache didn't make things any easier.

He turned around on the sofa, closing his eyes. He was tired – he wouldn't learn anything new anymore at that time.

"I _really_ hope they are happy there.", he mumbled, in a futile attempt to make himself feel better.

* * *

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks. They walked, and walked and walked, never close to safety and always deeper into that land desolated by war. They'd see signs of destruction on cities, small villages and roads. Again, the only place where one could pretend a war wasn't happening was in the woods, but progression was difficult and slower there.

In the meantime, MK's leg healed very nicely. Frisk was impressed with the short time it took to fully heal, considering how severe of a wound it was, and to be fair, the yellow monster seemed to be equally impressed ( _"It's magic, I guess. It's always magic."_ ). They could even run once again, and the group restarted to cover the regular amount of ground they used to.

As the hot days of summer started to contrast with chillier nights and a colder wind, indicating the approach of autumn, they found themselves taking refugee in a apartment building inside a fairly big city. It was nice to come across a large town, as supplies would be easier to find, but it came with a price. And that price was that a human resistance group was taking control of everything.

They learned it the hard way – as soon as they stepped inside the streets they were attacked (a situation Frisk wasn't unfamiliar with, but that didn't make it any less scary). Somehow, they managed to escape without any damage, hiding in a building. They settled for an apartment on the higher floors.

The human peeked into the window, watching a group of humans patrolling the streets.

"HE'S TAKING TOO LONG!"

Papyrus was walking from one side to the other of the living room. It was clear they were worried. Sans had left to check if he could find any useful information or supplies, but he hadn't come back yet.

"Relax, Papyrus.", said MK, throwing himself on a dusty sofa. "It's Sans we're talking about. I'm sure he's fine."

"WHAT IF THE HUMANS CAUGHT HIM!?", replied the skeleton, biting their thumb.

"In that case, I feel _really_ sorry for those poor humans...", stated MK, rolling his eyes. "Right, Frisk?"

Frisk glanced at the two monsters. Papyrus looked stressed out, while MK looked chilled – the extreme opposites right next to one another. Sunset cast an orange light into the room, lighting up the small particles of dust hovering in the air.

"Yeah! He's fine, Papyrus.", said Frisk, smiling. He wasn't a hundred percent certain – one could never be in that situation – but he needed to reassure the taller skeleton everything would be okay.

"See? Just you wait an-"

 _Whooosh!_

"AAAAAARGH!", screamed the yellow monster, sitting up as Sans appeared on the sofa, right next to them. " _Dammit_ , Sans! Don't do that again!"

"whooops, sorry.", said Sans, grinning and looking to the side in a mischievous manner. "didn't mean to."

The look in their eyes told Frisk otherwise, but the human decided not say anything. The shorter skeleton stood up and walked to the table, placing his backpack on top and unzipping it.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, SANS!?", said Papyrus, trying to be mad, but the relief in their voice gave them away.

"sorry, pap.", said Sans, placing canned food on the table. "some humans spotted me, but i managed to get away and got these."

"That's great!", said Frisk, picking up a can. It didn't seem to be spoiled, too, which was also a good sign.

"then i took a shortcut back here.", he continued, winking at MK, who simply looked away, annoyed. "i also got some cool info."

He picked up a folded paper and opened it on the table. It turned out to be a map of the town. Everybody looked down as Sans started to point out locations.

"so, turns out there's a human resistance group here, as you noticed. a militia of sorts. i saw some of their focal points being here, here and there."

He pointed to three places nearby where they were.

"Those are close.", stated the human, looking at the skeleton. "Do you think they really are in control of this town?"

"from their almost instant attack from before, i'd say yes.", said Sans, scratching his chin.

"So they are not the human group that is going after Undyne.", concluded the human.

"considering their 'territorial' manners, yeah, that's unlikely."

There was an uncomfortable silence where everyone thought the same thing.

"Why the hell are we here?", asked MK, rhetorically.

"normally, i'd ask the same thing.", replied Sans, sounding excited. "but look at the map. there's a reason this human group took over this city."

Sans pointed to a location on the north of town, where a big block was drown. Frisk tilted his head to read its name, and his heart skipped a beat when he did it.

"A GUN FACTORY?", said Papyrus before the human could do so.

"yep, and from what i heard it's well equipped, too.", replied their brother, clasping their hands. "because of that, it's their headquarters, and it's where they keep their vehicles."

From their tone of voice, Frisk reckoned they had something in mind, and he didn't have to ask to know what it was. The real question was: _how_?

"we need to go there.", they revealed. "get some weapons. get a vehicle. we will cover a lot more ground."

"Are you crazy?", said MK, spontaneously. "We'll never get past their security!"

"we gotta try.", replied Sans. "plus, we can always shortcut back here if anything goes wrong."

The skeleton looked expectantly to everyone, but no one seemed to be really excited about that idea.

"c'mon, guys.", pleaded Sans, looking to Frisk. "frisk, you know you need a better weapon, or at least more ammunition."

The human looked at his new backpack tossed into a corner of the room. He found it during the past month, as his previous one was left in the cabin. Inside it was the handgun he picked up from the cabin's shed, but he hadn't used it since that night. If he remembered right, the magazine had three bullets – not a really useful weapon if he kept it like that.

He wasn't really fond of it. He didn't like the feeling of pointing a gun, nor the way it fit in his hands – it felt _wrong_. It brought back bad memories. And yet...

"Yeah.", he said, conformed. "I know. But I'd like to stick with the handgun. At least it's easy to use."

Sans smiled, happy to hear someone finally agreeing with him.

"cool.", he said. "so we're doing this or what?"

He looked at MK and Papyrus. The taller skeleton looked intensively at the table, while the yellow monster didn't seem to be wiling to take part in the plan. They looked at Frisk, who simply shrugged. Did they have any other choice, in the end?

"I guess so.", said MK.

"UM... SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?", asked Papyrus, putting his hand on the back of his neck.

As expected, Sans seemed to have already thought about that. He leaned slightly against the table, looking at everyone.

"we're a small group. if we plan it right, we can sneak past them."

"So it's a stealth mission, huh?", stated MK.

"precisely.", agreed Sans. "we'll have to be really silent, which means that you, papyrus, should not talk by any means."

* * *

Sans went back outside that evening a couple times to go near the gun factory and watch how well secured it was. It turned out to be just as MK had predicted – the human group patrolled the place intensively, which meant that entering the building would surely be a challenge.

Papyrus suggested disguising Frisk as one of the militia's members, but his brother dismissed the idea saying they probably knew there was a group of monsters-plus-human loose in town, so they'd surely be paying attention to that. As hard as it would be, a sneaky approach had a higher probability of success, even if just by a little.

Based on Sans' findings, they designed a plan and passed it through over and over, until everyone knew it by heart. Frisk thought it was a solid plan – at least until the part they actually got into the building. Unfortunately, the skeleton had no idea what it looked like inside, so they would be running blind there. They had to be prepared to fight, and the human didn't like the prospective. Even if Sans could teleport everyone back in case things got out of control, it was still dangerous. They'd also have to make their way to the factory by foot – Sans' teleportation made a noise that could draw attention, which didn't matter much if they were trying to escape, but was a crucial detail if they were trying to sneak by place with tight security.

A little past midnight, they decided to finally head out and start the plan, with a cold breeze blowing through the air. Sans and Papyrus weren't bothered by it, just as heat also wasn't a big deal for them. Frisk and MK, on the other hand, could be affected by climate changes, so they had to be prepared. The human wore a parka-like coat he had found in an abandoned house, while MK wore a wool sweater. Frisk cut its sleeves so it would fit the yellow monster's body better.

It was a moonless light, which meant things were harder to see. In turn, that could also work in their favor, as darkness helped them hide. They made their way through the streets silently, avoiding the human patrols. From time to time, Frisk would put his hand in his pocket to feel if the handgun was there. He had taken it from his backpack so it would be easier to draw in an emergency – not that with three bullets only it would be much help.

Finally, they reached the gun factory. As they had seen before, it was on the northern edge of the city – surrounded by a regular chain link fence they would have to climb. They carefully walked around it until they found the spot on the other side of the fence that was full of trees. They climbed it silently, and Sans helped MK through with his blue magic. Frisk could see the faint lights from the flashlights the humans on patrol were holding.

They walked using the trees' shadows as undercover until they could see the building. From the point they were, they could see the corner of the factory, and by it there was one of the entrances, just as Sans had told them before. Two humans – a man and a woman –, guarded the door, each holding a semi-automatic machine gun. Some other people, armed as well, passed by at regular intervals. Frisk heard one of them yawning as they got closer, and another saying how tedious of a work that was.

"okay.", whispered Sans, looking intensively at the two humans guarding the entrance. "now's the tricky part. are you all ready?"

Of course they weren't. They all nodded.

"nice. mk, you and i will head over that bush as soon as frisk draws attention."

Sans pointed at a particularly messy, dirty bush far away from the corner of the factory. They had discussed that part before, but MK was scandalized regardless.

"What? _There_!? No way!"

They all looked at the yellow monster, confused. MK looked back at each of them, seeking support, but didn't receive any in return.

"Dude, you can't be serious!", he said, his voice slightly thinner than usual. "What if there's a... I don't know, what if there's a _snake_ there!?"

Up until that point, Sans had been very serious about that mission, but he grinned automatically with the reptilian monster's response.

"hey, that's no way to talk about your relatives."

They heard a soft snort coming from Papyrus. They all looked at them, who in turn avoided eye-contact, embarrassed. Sans opened his mouth, clearly amazed. That had been practically a laugh.

"okay now, we gotta focus.", said the shorter skeleton, managing to regain his composure after that little situation. "look, mk, i'm not feeling so hot about going in there too, but we talked about this and we need to do it. understand?"

MK looked down, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't come up with anything. They just sighed, defeated.

"Fine..."

"great.", said Sans, looking at the human. "frisk. when you're ready."

If they depended on that, they'd never carry on with the plan. Well, better be over with that. Frisk inhaled deeply, putting his hands in a shell form around his mouth and screaming.

"HELP!"

A second after he did it, he thought that plan was actually really stupid. How did _that_ sound good on paper?

For better or worse, it worked. They heard exclamations coming from the people all around them, and soon Frisk saw the lights from the flashlights being pointed at the trees where they were hiding. Sans and MK rapidly moved around, while the human and Papyrus walked back towards the chain link fence they had climbed before.

Frisk got his back against a tree, while the taller skeleton did the same against another, by his side. They were tall, but skinny, which meant the tree had just enough width to be a fit hiding spot. Soon enough, the human could hear the steps in the grassy ground from the patrols walking by the trees, trying to spot any signs of unusual activity. He held his breath when they walked close by, praying they wouldn't notice anything.

Seconds that seemed more like hours passed when he heard the footsteps getting further away, indicating the humans were searching another section of trees. Frisk signed for Papyrus to follow him, and they did. Being as silent as possible, they made their way back to the "front", where they could see the factory once again. The human's heart skipped a beat when he saw the entrance was now unguarded.

And then, a loud noise came from their right. That was Sans' sign, which meant they had very little time. He and Papyrus sprinted to the entrance, expecting for everyone to notice them and start shooting.

But that never happened, and instead they found themselves safe and sound inside the factory. They were in a corridor very well illuminated by a white light, which made Frisk's eyes hurt, as they had gotten used to the darkness. He heard some shooting outside, and suddenly there were steps approaching from beyond the corridor.

With his heart beating fast, he looked around and found a door. Grabbing Papyrus' arm, he led them towards it and entered the room, which turned out to be just a small broom cabinet. They closed themselves in and waited. The footsteps came running and passed by the door, getting distant until they finally seemed to head outside once again.

Waiting a few moments, they re-entered the corridor once again. The sounds from outside had ceased too, and the human started to get nervous. Papyrus seemed to be going through the same, after all, they were both thinking the same thing.

Were Sans and MK alright?

They looked at each other, unsure of what to do. As if reading their minds, the shorter skeleton and the yellow monster just bursted through the corridor entrance, running at full speed and not showing any signs of stopping.

"let's go!"

It wasn't necessary to say anything more. The four ran away, going through the mazy corridors just trying to get away from the entrance. Frisk didn't even know where he was anymore, nor how they would head back outside, but he didn't care. He was just worried their footsteps would draw attention from the humans inside the building, but strangely enough they didn't find any.

A while after, they started to slow down the pace until they came into a halt, panting. Frisk knew his body was full of adrenaline – he could run for hours, if necessary, and believed that with the others it was the same.

"O... kay.", said MK, still catching his breath. He didn't speak loudly, but his words still echoed through the empty corridors. "What do we do now?"

"we need to search for ammo for frisk.", said Sans, looking around, probably thinking where they should go. "then we get outta here and try to get a vehicle."

"We'll be really lucky if we make it that far.", replied the yellow monster.

"geez, always the downer, aren't ya?", mocked Sans. "c'mon, let's go."

With that, they started to walk through the corridors, their ears attentive to the smallest of sounds or hints of danger. There wasn't anything special about the factory, but it looked like it was kept clean. Frisk was used to see an state of abandonment as soon as he entered indoors, so that was a nice change of pace – life threatening situation and all considered.

When they came by a door, Sans would listen closely for any signs of movement before opening it. For a while, they didn't find anything really useful – only offices, meeting rooms and bathrooms – all kept tidy, for some reason.

"But why?"

They stopped dead in their tracks as they heard a voice echo through the corridor. Sans, who lead the way, raised his arm in a sign for everyone to stop moving. They held their breaths, paying attention.

"We think there may be intruders outside.", said another voice. "We need support. Don't worry, I'll guard the storage while you're at it."

The voices sounded they came from the adjacent corridor that crossed the one they were in. Sans motioned to everyone get against the wall, and got closer to the corner.

"Fine... but I'm sure it's nothing! It's always nothing...", replied the first voice.

"Stop complaining and just go!", commanded the second, annoyed.

They heard tired, reluctant footsteps getting further. Sans quickly peeked on the corridor, then turned to the rest of the group.

"there's... someone... there.", Sans communicated simply moving his mouth, not making any sound.

"What... do we... do?", asked Frisk in return in the same manner. MK and Papyrus simply looked nervously at the skeleton.

Sans seemed to be in conflict, the lights on his eye-sockets dimming slightly. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Frisk knew exactly what was going on inside his head – he was thinking of doing something he wasn't particularly excited about. However, the human knew that never stopped him from doing anything.

The skeleton glanced back at the group, but nobody did anything. He then peeked again on the corridor. Suddenly, he made a fast, precise movement with his hand, and a bone materialized, projecting itself across the adjacent corridor. They all heard a loud "thump", followed by the sound of someone falling on the ground.

Sighing, Sans walked inside the corridor, making a sign for everyone to follow him. With a sense of dread, they did it, and the first thing to be noticed was, obviously, the man slumped over the ground. Frisk must have made a scared expression, one that didn't pass unnoticed by Sans.

"relax, i just knocked him out. he's simply unconscious."

As they approached the militia member, they could see that was indeed the truth. He had been simply knocked out by Sans' attack, falling unconscious in front of a large, iron door. By his side, the same type of semi-automatic machine gun used by the others on the resistance group was thrown out in the ground. Sans picked it up, analyzing the item.

"huh. what do you think of this, buddo?", asked Sans, offering the gun to the human.

The human's hands got colder. He clenched his fists, shaking his head.

"It's rapid-fire.", he replied. "I'd probably just end up shooting myself or one of us if I tried to use it."

The truth was that he didn't want to hold _that_ type of weapon not even if his life depended on it, but technically he wasn't lying. His aim with the handgun was pretty off, from what he could tell from the only time he used it. He'd probably lose control with the recoil of a machine gun.

"welp, that wouldn't be good.", said Sans, letting his arm loose, but still holding the weapon. "can't be helped, for now."

Frisk nodded, grateful the skeleton had understood. He then shifted his attention to the iron door they were in front of. If he heard the two humans right before, the resistance group was worried about securing it, which meant...

"What's in there?", asked MK.

Giving their characteristical smile, Sans placed his hand on the doorknob.

"only one way to find out.", he replied, opening the door and entering. The lights were already on, which was strange considering no one was there.

Frisk gasped as soon as he realized what the room was. Of all the possible places, they actually found it. An ammunition storage. All sorts of magazines, shells, bullets and gun parts lined up neatly in shelves against the walls. By its corner, there was a desk with some loose bullets and empty magazines – maybe that was where they reloaded them. Frisk reckoned that was probably a tedious work.

"welp, that's perfect, huh?", said Sans, beaming.

It was impressive indeed, but Frisk wasn't sure if he felt exactly happy about being in a room of that sort. Still, he knew he would find useful things in there, so that was certainly a plus. There was no time to lose.

"Uh... not meaning to break it but...", called MK, still outside the storage. "But what are we gonna do about... you know, _him_?"

He motioned his head towards the unconscious militia's member. Upon discovering the room they had been guarding, Frisk almost forgot about them.

"oh.", said Sans, his grin faltering a little. It seemed he had forgotten about them, too. "that's simple. leave it to me."

The skeleton pointed his hand towards the man, casting his blue magic, making them lift above ground. They reminded Frisk of some sort of creepy doll, with their limbs loosely moving around.

Sans looked around for a while before spotting a locker against a wall on the opposite side of the room. He walked towards it and opened it, while he made the man "follow" him as he did it. Then, he put them inside it, closing its door afterwards. As soon as he released his magic, Frisk heard some thuds inside the locker, as gravity took its effect again.

"welp, that's it.", said Sans, turning around and rubbing his hands. "now, let's see what we can find here. mk, can you watch the locker?"

MK didn't look like they were very excited about the idea, but they simply sighed, conformed.

"Okay. Watch the locker. That's an okay task. Not creepy at all."

"glad you liked it.", said Sans sarcastically while the reptilian monster frowned. "let's go, frisk. the sooner we find what we need, the better."

The skeleton didn't have to say it twice, as Frisk also didn't want to spend much time in there. The human immediately started to search through the ammo boxes for ammunition he could use in his handgun. He quickly learned there were a lot of magazine types – and that he didn't understand anything about it. He simply took the handgun from his pocket and tried to load them to see if they fitted. It was difficult to find the right type, which made the human annoyed. Why were there so many? What's the difference between a Glock 17 and a M22 anyway?

Then, a little set of boxes catch his attention. He picked one up and read the label – it was a suppressor for pistols. He took it out what turned out to be a black, cylindrical object, almost the same size from the muzzle to the rear sight of the handgun. A silence suppressor would surely be useful for practice purposes – the muffled sound of the shots wouldn't call so much attention, meaning he could train his shooting with more safety.

Not actually expecting it to fit, he attempted to install it within the handgun barrel, and to his surprise, it made a clicking sound. Did that actually work? Well, he wouldn't know for a while – the suppressor made it impossible to put the handgun back in the pocket, so he just took it out and put it away in his backpack.

He proceeded to the table on the corner, where people would reload the magazines. The human expected maybe to see something that would help him understand which type of magazine he should grab. Instead, his eyes fell on the calendar on the table. It was a simple calendar from that year, and the days that had already passed by were crossed. He felt something tickling inside him when he noticed the last day that was crossed. Was it actually _possible_? The day they were in..?

"Guys..?", called Frisk, slowly. "Uh... what day is today?"

Frisk was with his eyes fixed on the calendar, so he couldn't actually see the others reactions from his question, but from their silence they clearly didn't expect it.

"um... let's see...", said Sans, pensive. "it was september 20th... but now we're past midnight... so it is the 21th?"

That matched with the date on the calendar. Yes, it was possible. For the first time, the thought made him smile. He turned around to face the group. They all seemed weirded out by his reaction.

"What's up with today?", asked MK, raising an eyebrow.

Frisk crossed his arms and looked to the side, unsure of how he should answer. Still, the silly smile on his face didn't disappear.

"It's my birthday.", he replied, simplistically.

Realization came to each and all their faces, and it was funny to see the transformation on their expressions. Everybody gave a true, genuine smile.

"Hey, congrats, man!", said MK.

Papyrus was being faithful to his agreement of not speaking a single word during the mission, so he walked towards Frisk and gave them a hug, almost crushing them with an unexpected force. The human awkwardly hugged them back – it felt warm, like a regular human hug. But it smelled like bones.

"heh, congratulations, buddo.", said Sans, approaching as Papyrus broke the hug. "here's your birthday gift."

He passed an arm around Frisk's shoulder and handed the human some pistol magazines. The human was skeptical the skeleton would actually find the right one, but picked one up out of politeness and attempted to reload the handgun. It smoothly fit the magazine port.

"so what's your age now?"

"17.", Frisk replied. "It's just... wow."

In all honesty, since the war had started he felt like time itself had frozen, but of course that wasn't the case – he knew all too well he had been walking through the wreckages and horrors of it for four months. He remembered his conversation with Mrs. Magda the day before the war broke out, and it felt like it was forever ago. In that meantime, something inside him had changed. He was scared to death, and everyday was a struggle, but he felt hopeful. Hopeful one day things would get better. Hopeful that one day he would _make_ things get better.

And that filled him with determination.

"yeah...", replied Sans, letting Frisk go as the human put the magazines on his backpack. "maybe we can have a party afterwards, heh. But now, we need to get out of this place. what do you think?"

"I'm in.", replied the human. "Let's do this!"

He looked to MK and Papyrus. That little moment seemed to have lifted their spirits up. Frisk could almost taste it in the air – the determination, this time not only in him, but in everybody. They could carry on with that mission. They could achieve their goals.

And that was when everything went wrong.

An alarm sounded off, with a loud, constant and piercing noise. They all jumped on their spots. The good feeling inside Frisk immediately waned, leaving only dread behind. What was going on?

"Guys!", called MK, looking at an up corner of the room, his face turned pale. "Over there..!"

Frisk looked, and mentally cursed himself. They had been so absorbed by all the equipment inside the room – and the subsequent reveal of the human's birthday – that they didn't notice the security camera that was there, surveilling them all that time. How could they have been so dumb?

He could hear movement inside the building. The clock was ticking – they would be trapped if they didn't act fast.

"crap, we need to go!", said Sans. "c'mon, we can still do this!"

"W-what!?", said MK, his face marked by terror. "Are you crazy!? We need to-"

But Sans had already kicked the door open. Papyrus just followed his brother behind, and Frisk didn't think too much either and ran as well. The piercing noise of the alarm and the approaching sound of footsteps made it hard to think. He heard the yellow monster cursing, but they started to run too, accompanying the rest of the group.

"Intruders on the east wing!"

They turned into a corner just as some people started shooting at them, the shots hitting the wall instead. The loud sound of shooting was amplified by the echo from the corridors, making Frisk's adrenaline quickly turn into pure, irrational panic. He was just following Sans, but the skeleton probably was just as lost as he was. The mazy factory just added a sense of claustrophobia that made the human feel even more trapped.

"Go! Go! Don't let 'em escape!"

They were lucky enough so that they weren't coming across any dead ends. Sometimes, a group of humans would appear right in front of them, but they always had another escape route available. However, Frisk knew they couldn't keep that up much longer – their luck would eventually run out, and that time there wouldn't be anyone to save them.

"C'mon, don't hold back!"

They kept a nice advantage from their pursuers, so they were hardly ever in range to be shot. Frisk had only one thing in mind, and that was to dismiss the human group. Only then they could actually think about the building layout and escape that place once and for all. The question was – would that actually be possible? It would be foolish to assume the militia didn't know their own headquarters. it was only a matter of time before Frisk and the others got trapped.

"Go around! Go, GO!"

They were being hunted down aggressively. There was no way they could dismiss their pursuers for long. They'd have to teleport with Sans, but first they had to have a good enough advantage so the skeleton could do that. It didn't help no one was thinking straight, as everyone was basically following their instincts.

With the sounds of gunshots and the alarm still buzzing constantly, Frisk couldn't notice there were footsteps approaching from the front, and only when a man from the militia appeared in right up their faces was when the human noticed they were trapped.

Frisk froze in place as the man pointed his gun towards the one who was closer to him – MK, and pulled the trigger.

"kid..!"

Sans threw himself, getting the yellow monster out of the way just as the man started shooting. Frisk instinctively covered his face with his hands and fell to the ground.

"NO!", yelled Papyrus.

The taller skeleton raised his hand and summoned a wall of blue bones that appeared from the floor and went all the way up to the roof, separating them from the man. He, in turn, gave a few steps back, confused, and ran away, screaming things Frisk didn't understand.

The human looked around. There were gun marks on the wall nearby him, but he wasn't hit. He couldn't believe in his luck. He was so shocked that it took a while for him to notice Papyrus was offering a hand for him to stand up. He took it, his legs feeling as if they had turned into jelly.

"ARE YOU OKAY, HUMAN?", asked Papyrus, concerned.

If by okay they meant "alive", then the answer would be yes – because anything beyond that would be too much. The human nodded.

MK and Sans were up as well – the latter resting their hands on their knees, while the former looked at them with a mix of shock and worry.

"S-sans, you... you...", said MK, his voice failing.

Sans then fully stood up, his face scrunching up for a second.

"i'm f-fine.", he simply said. "we gotta get out."

His expression was a desperate one – and to see Sans desperate meant things were quickly getting out of control. They had to do something. Frisk rapidly scanned their immediate perimeter, and his vision locked onto a door they had passed by. The human ran towards and opened it, revealing a set of stairs that led to an upper floor.

"Over here!", he yelled as the approaching sounds of their pursuers got closer once again.

Everyone ran upstairs, and as Sans – the last one – entered it, they started to hear the gunshots again. Frisk almost tripped and fell the stairs a couple of times, but he always managed to keep up the pace. As Papyrus burst the door to the second floor open, revealing that the corridor layout was about the same of the first one, they entered it and ran, once again, yet through another maze of corridors. That time, however, Frisk stopped hearing the movement from the militia, which meant they were at a really good advantage. All they had to do was stop and take a "shortcut" out of that place.

Papyrus seemed to have the same thing in mind as he lead the group through one of the doors, into a small office. The taller skeleton stopped in the middle, panting. Frisk closed the door as he entered, letting a sigh of relief. They were closer to safety – only one step left now.

"WE GOTTA GET OUT!", said Papyrus, looking at his brother.

Sans nodded, the light on his eye-sockets disappearing for a moment. Frisk reckoned they felt frustrated because the second half of their plan had failed, but there was nothing left for them to do. The situation had become far too dangerous for them to keep going like that.

"yep...", replied the skeleton. "okay... just grab me... i'll take a shortcut."

Everybody quickly approached Sans. Papyrus grabbed their left hand, while Frisk grabbed the right one, holding MK, just as he had done last time. The shorter skeleton closed their eyes, and Frisk did the same, getting ready for the teleportation. They braced themselves for the upcoming "shortcut".

But it never happened.

Instead, Frisk felt the skeleton's grasp loosening as they collapsed on the floor. He opened his eyes, looking at the skeleton, confused. What was going on? Sans attempted to stand up once again, but didn't manage.

"S-SANS?", called Papyrus, kneeling, extremely worried. "A-ARE YOU OKAY?"

Frisk and MK crouched down too. A foreboding feeling was in the air. Sans' breath was quick and shallow. The light on their eye-sockets dimmed for a bit.

"damn... heh... i guess i'm not as young as i used to be..."

Frisk bit his lip. Something was wrong, he knew it, but he didn't know what. With a feeling of tightness around his chest, he took Sans' backpack from him and tossed by his side, grabbing the skeleton and turning them around so he could see their front. His whole head spun with what he saw.

" _Holy_..!", exclaimed MK, shocked.

The human became speechless. Sans' shirt was marked all over it with gun marks, but that wasn't all. A bright red liquid poured from his wounds, soaking his shirt and hoodie. It had an awful resemblance with human blood, yet...

"SANS!", said Papyrus, his voice even louder than usual. "W-WHAT..? WHAT IS THIS!?"

Sans breath was getting quicker, and he was looking at a point above his head, seemingly having difficult to focus. Nevertheless, he managed to look at Papyrus.

"get outta here.", he said, his voice full of sorrow and desperation. "i can't be saved."

"WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, BROTHER?", replied Papyrus, taking his brother's hands in his. "W-WE ARE NOT LEAVING YOU BEHIND!"

Sans made a low, weird noise, as if he was chuckling, but his erratic breath made it sound somewhat disturbing.

"pap... heh... i..."

"NO!"

Frisk felt tears forming on his eyes. MK looked desolated. That _couldn't_ be happening. It _had_ to be a nightmare. It felt like one.

He noticed that a white powder was beginning to accumulate all around Sans, some of it stained red. It sent chills down the human spine. Despite all the desperate wishes in his heart, it was happening. There was no denying it. He felt the same way he did when Toriel died all those years before.

"NO... NO..!", said Papyrus, his voice desolated. He was about to cry. "SOMEONE... WE CAN... DO SOMETHING! RIGHT!?"

The way he looked at Frisk when he said that was too much. That desperate hope – the human couldn't take it. They looked away, and felt something stuck in their throat as Papyrus began to cry.

"Sans, I...", began MK, his voice full of guilt.

The skeleton looked at the yellow monster. Cracks had appeared on their face, and some parts were dusty, making it look like they were melting.

"sshh... it's okay...", they replied, forcing a smile. "i... need... want you to..."

With a breaking noise, both the skeleton's arms broke down as if they were crumbling plaster. It formed a pool of dust by their sides. Papyrus sobs got louder, and Frisk swallowed.

Maintain the focus on Sans' face.

 _Don't look_.

Don't look anywhere else.

"want you... to... stick together... until...", Sans attempted to say, his voice very thin. Frisk had no idea how he could hear it. "until... the end... promise?"

He looked to the human. Frisk's voice was gone. He wanted to say everything would be fine, but that would be a blatant lie. Even if he wanted to believe in it, it would still be a lie. _Nothing_ would be fine. There was no escaping it. He simply nodded, and the skeleton gave a weak smile, more cracks appearing on their skull.

With one last bit of strength, Sans turned his face to look at Papyrus, who was sobbing uncontrollably. It seemed every second the taller skeleton spent looking at their brother at that state drained their sanity.

"pap... i... i love you... bro..."

Papyrus' whole body was shaking. They opened their mouth, but they couldn't do anything but cry. That whole situation was tearing them apart, and it was too much for Frisk to see. The human looked down, clenching his fists. He felt MK was close, just as shocked and hurting as he was.

"I... I...", Papyrus tried to say. "SANS, I..."

And the inevitable happened. Sans' body gave in and crumbled – his existence reduced to the white-and-red dust under the shirt and hoodie he left behind.


	11. Somewhere Else

In that exact moment, the Earth was still turning around its axis. Somewhere, there were people worryingly watching the news, concerned about the monsters that had suddenly appeared, wondering if one day they would invade their countries too. Somewhere – somewhere else – time was moving forward.

But for Frisk, nothing about that mattered. His world came into a sudden halt. There were noises around him, the siren still sounded, but he didn't care. It was like his soul had left his body, and he had become an empty shell.

His heart ached. His head contorted, trying to assimilate what had just happened. He could hear someone calling for him, but it sounded distant. He kept staring at the white powder all over the ground, really wanting to look away, but not finding any strength to do so.

Not powder. _Dust_.

During that state, his hearing was mostly muffled, but sometimes it would clear up, like his brain was an old radio tuning in and out. He heard Toriel's voice telling him to be careful. He saw Asgore's shocked expression when they were killed by that murderous flower. He smelled Mrs. Magda's spilled blood when she died. Everything was coming back at him, and it was too much. He couldn't handle it. He'd go insane.

He saw the scene right before his eyes – they were open, of course – but it was like the images didn't manage to be processed by his brain. He couldn't tell what was going on, or if he was in danger. And honestly, it didn't matter. Not anymore.

"Frisk!"

He blinked a few times, and Earth began to move again. His hearing cleared up. He snapped out of it, and looked to the one who had called him – MK, who was still kneeled down by his side.

"T-thank god!", he said, sounding relieved. "You... you were..."

Frisk shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. He looked at Sans' dust spread across the ground, an unbelievable amount of sorrow inside him, and still growing. However, that time he knew he couldn't stay there. The shorter skeleton was no longer with them, but that was no excuse for them to just stay there and get captured – or most likely, killed.

"I know.", the human replied, his voice failing. He hacked to clear his throat. "Sorry."

Along with the everlasting siren, he could hear the running footsteps of the militia's members getting closer to the room they were in. They had little time if they wanted to escape – and the "shortcut" option was out for good.

"We need to go!", said MK with a sense of urgency on his voice, standing up.

Frisk stood up too, but then looked at Papyrus, who remained in the same position. They didn't say a word, and that filled the human with a bad feeling. He walked around their brother's remains and crouched down by their side. The taller skeleton was staring catatonically at the dust, their mouth half-open with a silent scream that never came out.

"Papyrus.", he called, his voice low.

As expected, there was no reaction. The skeleton didn't move an inch, as if they hadn't heard him at all. Frisk noticed that was probably the way he was a few moments prior, too.

"Papyrus.", he called again, his voice louder. "We have to leave."

Still no reaction. In the distance, Frisk could hear the militia getting closer. They had seconds to leave that room.

"Papyrus, I'm really... _really_ sorry. You're hurt. I'm hurt too. But we can't keep in here!"

"It's no use!", said MK, glancing at the door they came through, panicking. "Oh god, what do we do!?"

And Papyrus kept still. The easy solution: leave the skeleton there. But Frisk was fed up with easy solutions. No – he'd bring them back even if it was the last thing he'd do.

They would stick together.

"Papyrus!", he called once more, sounding loud and clear. "C'mon!"

That time, Frisk saw, perhaps, the skeleton's eye socket twitching for a second, but they still didn't move at all. The human closed his hands, knowing he was running out of options.

"They're almost here..!"

"I'm sorry, Papyrus..."

He closed his eyes for a brief moment before grabbing Papyrus' shoulders and turning them so they would face him. Although they weren't looking at their brother's dust anymore, their expression didn't change. They weren't aware of their surroundings at all.

With a quick and precise movement, Frisk threw his arm back and slapped Papyrus in the face with force, making a hollow sound. The tough surface of the skull hurt his hand in return. He flinched, grabbing his hand in an act of reflex.

However, the shock was enough to bring the skeleton back. He looked at Frisk, putting his hand where the human had hit. He looked utterly miserable, but at least he was out of his hypnotic state.

"We have to leave.", stated Frisk, looking Papyrus' in the eyes decisively.

The skeleton nodded and stood up as the human did so. MK rapidly approached them.

"Let's go!", he said, turning around and starting to run to the door on the opposite side of the room.

Papyrus didn't say a word and merely followed the yellow monster. Frisk gave a step forward, but then stopped and looked at Sans' dust. It was so weird to think just an hour before they were still alive and well. Then, just like that, they left, no longer belonging to this world.

Frisk felt a heaviness in his heart that almost plucked him to the ground. He glanced at the other two monsters who were waiting by the door. Papyrus looked down, while MK stared at the human, confused as to why he wasn't rushing.

The footsteps of the militia were really close.

He made a snap decision. Crouching down, he opened his backpack and took an empty plastic water bottle.

"Frisk!", called MK. "We don't have time!"

But he wasn't listening. With his hands shaking a little, he poured some of the skeleton's dust – the part which wasn't stained red – inside the bottle. Getting in contact with the powder made him slightly sick, but he didn't back down.

"Whoa, what the _hell_ , dude!?", exclaimed MK, scandalized.

Frisk quickly shoved the bottle inside his backpack, and before standing up once again he picked Sans' backpack too. There were probably useful supplies that couldn't go to waste there. He wore it on his front, his body sandwiched by the two bags.

As he ran towards the monsters, Papyrus opened the door, and just before they got into the adjacent corridor he heard someone kicking the door they had came through open.

"Found them!"

They started shooting, but missed. The trio ran at full speed, but for some reason Frisk's thoughts were clear, as he managed to keep his panic under control – perhaps because of the emotional shock he just went. He had a clear objective in his mind: to get out of the facility.

He knew they would have to get back to the first floor if they wanted to do that, but it was hard finding their way in the mazy corridors. Sometimes they would go through the offices, but it often felt they were running in circles. It was hard to come up with a plan when they were being chased.

It seemed, however, that luck decided to be on their side once again. As they were running across a corridor, Frisk spotted a huge paper hanging on the wall just a little ahead, and noticed it was a map of the factory.

Now that was just what they needed.

"Stop!", he yelled, and the two other monsters obeyed. "MK! Map! Exit!"

It wasn't necessary to say anything else, the yellow monster nodded and started to study the map intensively, trying to spot an exit. Papyrus kept looking to the ground, placing his right hand on his left elbow, as if half embracing himself. Frisk turned around. They were still being chased – that much was obvious – so he drew the handgun from his pocket and pointed forward.

"I'll... I'll hold them off!", stated Frisk, trying to sound reassuring.

In that moment, a couple of militia members entered the corridor, and Frisk instinctively pulled the trigger. The loud bang from the gun startled him, but he shot a couple more times. He missed – but their pursuers were caught in surprise as they didn't expect the human to fight back. They retreated back from where they came from, but Frisk kept shooting. He didn't know if they had gone for good or if they were just waiting for an opening to shoot back.

MK was busy reading the map, and Papyrus wasn't in any conditions to help him. Frisk was well aware that once the magazine ran out of bullets they would start shooting if they were waiting, and the trio would stand no chance. The rest of the ammo was inside his backpack, and by the time it would take for him to open it and reload they would already be dead.

"Ok, done!", stated MK as Frisk pulled the trigger one more time, only to find out he had run out of bullets.

He turned around and started to run, the other two monsters following him closely. He heard shooting and screaming behind him, but they had already gained a good advantage.

"Left!", commanded MK, and they turned into the left corner of a corridor.

They were still playing that dangerous game of cat and mouse – only this time they knew what they were doing, and if anything, that increased their chances of survival.

"Right!"

That filled the human with determination.

"Stairs on the right!"

They did as the reptilian monster commanded and went down the stairs back to the ground floor, all of them skipping some of the steps for more speed.

"Left!"

The alarm sounded closer, which meant they were near its source. The piercing noise made Frisk's ear hurt.

"Left!"

They got into a particularly long corridor, and sped up. Long corridors meant they could easily be shot from behind if they weren't quick enough. By the end, there was an iron double door.

"Keep going! We're almost there!"

That gave Frisk the motivation he needed for that last boost of speed he wanted to do. Just a little longer and they would get out of that hellish place. They would be free.

"Just one more room..!"

The human kicked the door open.

They were in a large room where Frisk reckoned was used to actually mount and customize firearms. There were large tables surrounded by all sorts of machinery. The room itself was composed by shades of gray and white, and it looked like it once was a rather depressing working environment. Still, that wasn't what caught the human's attention.

It was all the militia inside the room, pointing their guns at the trio. Frisk immediately raised both of his arms, still holding his handgun on his left hand. Papyrus did the same. If fear wasn't the predominant feeling in the moment, the human would have felt frustrated – they were so close, yet so far from their freedom.

"Drop the weapon!", commanded a woman directly in front of them. She was the only one not holding a gun.

Frisk immediately opened his hand, letting the gun fall to the ground. They were severely outnumbered – any kind of resistance would be futile and would only get them killed. His eyes were fixed on the exit on the other side of the room. What could they do? Make a run for it? They have been lucky so far, but the human thought that would be asking for too much.

Everyone pointed their guns at them, and tension filled the air. One wrong movement and the trio would be as good as dead. Frisk's mind raced, trying to find a solution. Glancing at their faces, he noticed they were unprepared for the situation that had presented. Perhaps they didn't have to deal with intruders since they took control of the town? In any case, that was hardly a good thing – on their eyes, Frisk and the monsters were a threat that needed to be dealt with, one way or another.

He heard the iron door behind him being opened once again, followed by a set of steps. He didn't dare to look behind – the situation was so volatile someone could start shooting if he did – but despite that he knew they were surrounded.

Was that it? Would it end there? What could they do? Fighting was not an option – not a reasonable one, at least, but there had to be something else they could do. Frisk had no idea what it was, but of one thing he was certain – he needed to get his group out of the factory safely.

He sighed. Fighting would only make things worse, and running away wasn't even possible. That meant there was only one thing left to do.

 _Act._

"We mean no harm.", said Frisk, trying to keep his voice steady.

Some people shivered and pointed their guns in a more aggressive manner at the human, but fortunately nobody shot. He held his breath, and had the feeling MK and Papyrus were doing the same.

"Who are you? What are you doing with those _monsters_?", said the same woman who commanded Frisk to drop his weapon earlier.

The way she said the last question – with a hint of shock and disgust – bothered him, but that was the opening he needed. If he answered the questions and said the right things, they could get out unharmed. He knew it was possible – he'd done it before.

"They aren't fighting.", replied the human. He could feel all the eyes on the room were fully focused on him. "I... I was alone when I found them, and we've been traveling together ever since. We're just trying to survive. We don't want any trouble."

There. Easy, simple, direct. He didn't tell the whole truth, but he didn't lie either, which was probably a good thing to do.

"If you don't want any trouble, then why did you break into here?", inquired the woman, imposing.

Frisk had a ready answer to that.

"We're running short on supplies. We had no other choice but steal what you had here."

"What did you take?"

"Just some handgun ammo and a suppressor."

The woman broke the eye contact with Frisk for a moment, pondering on what to do.

"Adam.", she called. "Check their bags and see if they are telling the truth."

He didn't turn around to look, but he felt someone unzipping his backpack on his back and checking the contents. They did the same thing with Sans' backpack, which the human was wearing on the front. Finally, they walked to Papyrus and checked their bag. The whole affair lasted a few minutes which were filled with tension.

"He says the truth, ma'am.", said the man called Adam, and Frisk held himself from sighing with relief, as that would most likely be interpreted the wrong way.

"What did they take?"

"Nine beretta magazines with 15 bullets each, and a suppressor.", replied the man. "They have some other stuff, mostly food and first-aid, but they are not the type we have here, so they must have taken it from another place."

The woman nodded, looking down for a while, deep in thought. Then, she looked fiercely into Frisk's eyes once again, and suddenly the human felt very tiny.

"What made you _think_ it was a good idea to come here to steal our ammunition?", she asked.

What really made everyone agree to go there was because of the vehicles, but they didn't need to know that. Frisk held his breath, carefully choosing what to say next. He noticed he was probably talking to the leader of the group, which just added to his nervousness.

"I was the only one from us who didn't have any means of self defense.", he replied. "We came here to fix that problem. Monsters can do magic, but we humans can't, as you must be aware by now."

"I see...", she said in return.

It was clear she was in doubt of whether she should or not let them walk away. Silence filled the room. Their freedom was no more than a possibility at the moment, but Frisk had to hold onto that hope. There was nothing else to do.

"Ma'am?", called a man next to the woman. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you can't be possibly thinking of letting them go, right?"

"And why not, Richard?", she asked.

The man looked at the trio, full of suspicion.

"We don't know if they are telling the truth.", he started, looking back to the woman. "I mean, he looks like a human, sure, but a human walking around with monsters sounds a bit fishy to me. Who's to say they are not gonna come back with reinforcements? I say we kill them to prevent that. Their supplies are gonna be useful, too."

For the first time, people started to talk over what the man had said. To Frisk's horror, most of them were agreeing with him. That wasn't good, but it wasn't like they didn't have a point. What could the human reply?

" _I don't know if you're more human... or monster.",_ Bonnie's words echoed in his head.

"It's true.", said Frisk, and everybody looked at him again.

He could feel MK staring at him, probably thinking he had gone insane. The man, Richard, and the militia leader both looked at him with inquisitive looks.

"You don't know if I'm lying.", continued the human. "And I can't prove what I'm saying. I can just plead... no, _beg_ of you... to believe in me. I can only give you my word that we won't come back if you let us go."

Cold sweat was all over Frisk's forehead. He knew he was threading on very thin ice, and one wrong sentence, or even one wrong word could mean their doom. He wasn't even sure he had done the right thing.

The woman kept eye contact with him, and Frisk used all his might not to look away. Richard, however, pointed at him.

"I remember now.", he said, angry. "You were in four, right? One is missing! Where is he!?"

Frisk didn't even know how it was possible, but it seemed as if even more guns were pointed at them as people understood what the man was saying. The human felt his mouth dry. He wanted to look at Papyrus, but couldn't do it.

"H-he...", babbled Frisk in response. "He's..."

The look on the militia leader's expression changed. It was no longer inquisitive, imposing and mistrustful, but sorrowful. Pitiful, even. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Leave.", she said, opening them again.

There was a small commotion from the people around her, not believing what she had just said. Richard looked at her, confused.

"Ma'am?", he asked. "We... we can't just leave them be!"

"Silence!", she commanded, and everyone stopped talking all at once. She looked at Frisk, her eyes fierce again. "You can keep your things. Go. Get far away from here."

The human felt something stuck in his throat. He actually did it? Were they saved? It was too good to be true.

"Thank you.", he said, nodding.

Richard, on the other hand, looked hysterical.

" _What_!? Are you actually doing it!? What about our ammo!? What about what I said earlier!?"

"I know the risks, Richard, thank you very much.", she replied sarcastically. "But we can't afford to spill innocent blood. If we stop caring and just kill everyone who crosses our paths, we'll lose what little humanity we've been able to keep so far."

"But... but..!"

"I've made my mind.", she stated firmly. "Open the door. Let them leave."

The militia members seemed to be reluctant in obeying their leader, but in the end they didn't have any other choice. One by one, they all put their guns down and walked around to make space so Frisk and the monsters could pass.

With his hands still shaking a little, he picked up the handgun from the ground and pocketed it. He turned around to face MK and Papyrus. The former looked in awe at the human, not believing what had just happened. The latter, however, looked uncharacteristically indifferent to the whole situation, and that broke Frisk's heart. In normal circumstances, the taller skeleton would be the first to cheerfully compliment the human.

But the circumstances weren't normal, and perhaps they'd never be.

"I have a warning to give you.", said the leader, and Frisk turned around to look at her. "I'm letting you leave, so don't take this for granted. If we see you in this town again, we won't show _any_ mercy. Understood?"

Frisk nodded energetically, and the woman made a motion with her head – a sign for them to leave. He motioned for MK and Papyrus to follow him, and they walked across the room, fully aware everyone was staring at them. Richard looked at them extremely angry, but the human payed it no mind. Soon enough, they were outside once again, the door closing behind their backs.

It was still night and the temperature had dropped by several degrees. Frisk had lost sense of time, though it felt like decades had passed. All he wanted to do was to lay down anywhere and sleep until morning, but they couldn't do that. They had to get the farthest they could from that town first. Against all odds, they were shown mercy, but that would hardly happen again – the militia leader's warning was clear.

Deep inside, Frisk knew what he had just done was amazing. He saved his, MK and Papyrus' lives by simply talking. Yet – he couldn't feel happy, nor proud, because something was missing. And now that he wasn't in immediate danger anymore, he could feel it growing in his chest – a dark, black void that would never be filled again. Not really.

He felt incomplete. They all did.

* * *

It wasn't the first time they felt like they were walking aimlessly without any purpose or objective, but that never hurt as bad as it did in the moment. Three lost souls wandering in the dark woods, guided by nothing but the will to survive.

Frisk didn't want to think – if he did, he would suffer. He didn't want to think about the war, or how he was supposed to "end" it. He didn't want to think about Undyne. He just pressed forward, guiding MK and Papyrus through the dark with a small flashlight.

Sans' backpack was heavy, and having to carry it alongside his own was starting to make his shoulders hurt. However, he wasn't going to ask to take turns with Papyrus to do it. He could only imagine what the skeleton was going through. Sans' death was affecting the human deeply, and he wasn't even a relative to them. He felt fearful about what would happen to Papyrus. What if they became so broken they'd never smile again? What if they stopped believing? What if they stopped being Papyrus altogether?

The trio walked in the forest for quite some time, not exchanging a word in the way. Frisk figured they must have made some distance from the town, and as they were all tired, he decided they could rest there.

"I think this is a good spot.", stated the human, turning around to face the two monsters. "I'll... I'll start the watch. Sunrise must not be far, anyway."

And that was all that was needed. Papyrus dropped on his knees and grabbed his face, his shoulders shaking. Frisk knew what was happening even before the skeleton started giving loud sobs and hiccups. He felt as if someone was squeezing his heart.

"S-SANS... SANS...", they cried, desolated. "SANS... WHY... SANS..."

"Papyrus...", said MK, sounding heartbroken.

What Frisk really wanted to do was sit and cry with the skeleton. Instead, he approached the reptilian monster and made a sign for them to give Papyrus some space. They understood and followed the human, who stopped after they both made some distance.

"Just... leave him be, for now.", said Frisk, and MK nodded.

Despite being some feet away, he could still hear Papyrus' breakdown, and it made him feel miserable. With nothing else to do, he sat on the ground, taking off both backpacks. If his shoulders could sigh with relief, they would. MK sat next to him. From the faint light of the flashlight, they didn't look any better than the human did. He wanted to say something – anything so he didn't have to hear the skeleton crying – but couldn't come up with anything. So they just sat in silence for a moment.

"It's _my_ fault.", said MK, his voice full of guilt. "Sans, he... he saved me. Man, if I hadn't been so stupid... if I had cast a shield spell, he would still be with us."

"You can't blame yourself for this.", replied Frisk. "Nobody asked for this to happen, it just... did."

And that was what hurt the most. How sudden it was. How unnecessary. One second, Sans was with them, and in the other, they had vanished permanently from the world.

"I just don't get it.", continued the yellow monster. "I... I never thought that he'd... he'd save me, of all of us. I know we had made peace with each other a couple months ago, but..."

"Sans... he... he was a good monster.", said Frisk, his voice trembling. "H-he had a... a good soul."

"Yeah... he was.", agreed MK, full of emotion.

Frisk embraced his own legs in an attempt to make his body stop shaking. Silence filled the air once again as Papyrus' sobs started to slow down. The human wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign.

"What are we gonna do, Frisk?"

"I don't know.", he replied. "We can't take on Undyne... not like this."

"So we're running away?"

And they were back to running away. Frisk's whole life had been an eternal runaway – from the orphanage to the current war. What else could he do? He wasn't ready for that. He had never been ready for that.

"I don't like this.", stated the human.

"Me neither."

Papyrus' sobs had completely stopped. Frisk could see their silhouette in the dark, and they hadn't moved from their spot. It filled his heart with a creepling dread.

"Frisk?", called MK. "I'm... I'm scared."

He looked to the yellow monster, and their expression confirmed their statement, indeed. They were in such a hellish situation, with no idea of what to do and nowhere to go. "Scared" was a way to put it mildly.

"I'm scared too..."

* * *

"He's not okay, is he?"

Frisk discreetly looked back at Papyrus. They were sat by a tree, looking uninterested to a white flower next to them with a sorrowful expression that really made the human's heart hurt. And as he had been looking at them pretty often, it felt like he was always in pain.

"Of course not.", stated Frisk, sighing. "It's been three days only."

Three days that felt more like three centuries. The hours passed by sluggishly, and to make matters worse Frisk felt they weren't going anywhere – as far as he knew, they could be walking in circles. However, they had to start doing something. If they weren't going after Undyne anymore, they had to at least find a way to get supplies – the ones they had wouldn't last forever.

It was the middle of the afternoon, but they decided to rest on a clearing for a little while. Papyrus immediately picked a tree far from MK and Frisk and sat by it – he had been doing that for the last few days, and for the moment the two boys decided to leave it at that.

Frisk sat on the ground, and MK did the same as the human tossed the two backpacks he had been carrying. Their combined weight made his shoulders feel sore. He stretched his back in an attempt to make it feel better.

"What are you gonna do about Sans' backpack?", asked MK, looking at Frisk rotating his shoulders. "It would be easier if you just picked up its contents and put it in yours."

Frisk looked at the bag. He hadn't opened it or checked its contents yet – there was something holding him back, so he just took it along with his own. Not a practical solution, but...

"I'm...", babbled the human. "I'm not sure I should... I..."

"Frisk, you can't sanctuarize the backpack.", replied MK rationally. "I mean, come on, I can see you're tired from carrying two backpacks all day long, and as much as I'd like to help, you know... I can't."

They looked down, as if disappointed with themselves. Frisk knew how the lack of arms affected MK. Some simple tasks like eating or drinking were difficult for them, although they had never complained about it. More often than not, the human thought that being as skilled in magic as they were, not having arms would be nothing to worry about, but that didn't seem to be the case.

He looked once again at the backpack. Should he check it there? What if Sans put something personal in there? Unlike Frisk's and Papyrus' bags, Sans' had kept the same one he got from a department store four months before. It wouldn't be a surprise if he kept some things of his own among the supplies. Besides, how would the taller skeleton react if he saw Frisk fiddling with the it?

Before he could dwell on the matter much longer, a shadow covered him from the front, blocking the sunlight. He looked up and was surprised to see Papyrus there, looking at the human straight in the eyes with a strange – but somehow, not unfamiliar – expression. MK seemed to be just as surprised with the skeleton's approach.

"H-hey, Papyrus.", greeted the human, feeling a bit uneasy. "Are you o-"

"WE NEED TO GO."

That was the first time Papyrus talked directly to him in three days, but Frisk wasn't sure if he was relieved or even more uncomfortable. _Go_? Go where?

"Uh... what?", asked the human, confused.

"WE MUST FIND UNDYNE.", stated the skeleton, his expression not changing for one second. "WE HAVE NO TIME TO LOSE."

Frisk clenched his fists and looked to the ground. Why did Papyrus, of all people, was telling him _that_? Nevertheless, the statement wasn't the reason the human avoided eye contact. It was because he realized what their expression represented.

Determination.

He looked at MK, who seemed to be nervous with the situation. However, they stood up, even though the skeleton was much higher than them.

"We... uh...", said the yellow monster, unsure. "We decided to stop going after Undyne. At least for now."

Papyrus blinked and looked at the reptilian monster, confused.

"WHAT!? NO! WE HAVE TO FIND UNDYNE! WE CAN'T LET THIS WAR GO ON ANY LONGER! WE CAN'T ALLOW ANYMORE LIVES TO BE... TO BE..!"

They couldn't complete the sentence, and Frisk understood. Of course that was it. He stood up and placed a hand on Papyrus' shoulder, trying to comfort them.

"Papyrus...", he said. "I get it, ok? You don't want... what happened... to happen again, but we can't-"

"NO, YOU _DON'T_ GET IT!", exclaimed Papyrus suddenly, and Frisk flinched, taking his hand from their shoulder. "YOU DON'T! IF YOU DID, WE'D BE ON OUR WAY TO UNDYNE! HOW COULD YOU!? YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME YOU HAD GIVEN UP!"

"It's... it's not that we gave up!", replied Frisk, defensive. "It's just... we have to rethink what we've been doing. Listen, we would only be able to defeat Undyne, or whatever, because of Sans, and... well, now he's-"

"NO! IT'S _NOT_ BECAUSE OF SANS!", said the skeleton, cutting the human's sentence once more. He felt deeply bothered – it was like they weren't even listening. "WE COULD DEFEAT UNDYNE BECAUSE OF YOUR HUMAN SOUL! AND YOU'RE STILL HERE, SO WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!"

"Nothing to lose? _Excuse me_!?", exclaimed MK, joining in. "So you're willing to leave Frisk for dead now!?"

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!", replied Papyrus. "BUT SANS DIED FOR THIS! AND I'M WILLING TO DIE FOR THIS, TOO, IF NECESSARY! YOU SHOULD BE READY! THIS ISN'T A GAME, THIS ISN'T A PLAY! THIS IS REAL!"

A billion thoughts were crossing Frisk's head, and none of them were able to make it to his mouth for him to speak up. He never saw Papyrus like that – he never thought he would ever see them like that. It was like he was facing an entirely different skeleton.

"If we face Undyne as we are, we'll only be killed!", said the yellow monster. "This is not brave, this is dumb!"

"IT'S NOT DUMB IF IT'S HONORABLE!", said Papyrus, exasperated.

"Well, excuse me if I have no intention of following your dear brother's footsteps...", stated MK, rolling his eyes.

"SANS KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING!"

"Oh, _did_ he?", replied the reptilian monster, sarcasm in every word. "Come on, Papyrus! He didn't have any more of an idea of what to do as we did!"

"HE WAS STILL THE ONE WHO GUIDED US UP UNTIL NOW!"

"Yeah, and look at where _that_ got him! I don't know if you realized, but HE'S DEAD! HE'S MURDERED!"

"SHUT UP!"

Papyrus raised his right hand, and Frisk watched, paralyzed in horror as a sharp bone was projected at MK. It scratched the yellow monster's face, opening a cut that started to bleed a green liquid.

It felt like the temperature had sharply dropped. MK looked with a mix of anger and shock to the skeleton, who in turn looked enraged. For some seconds, they all stood there in silence, tensed up and defensive. Frisk's brain was having a hard time accepting what had just happened. Did Papyrus really..?

The skeleton clenched his fist and brought it close to his torso, grasping it with his other hand and closing his eyes for a moment. His whole body was shaking. MK kept their mouth half-open, dumbfounded by his sudden attack. Frisk was well aware that if that bone had been thrown a bit to the left, the consequences would have been dire.

"IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW THE PLAN ANYMORE...", said Papyrus, his voice filled with a restrained anger. "I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU."

He looked utterly miserable – sorrow and anger showing in every line of his face, making Frisk want to apologize for everything. For his dumb decisions that started that war. For Sans' death, even if he was aware that hadn't been _directly_ his fault.

Then, Papyrus turned around and started walking away.

It took Frisk a second for the meaning of the skeleton's words to actually hit him. Suddenly, all emotions drained from him and were replaced by deep fear and anguish.

"No... Papyrus!", pleaded Frisk, following them, but they started to run.

Despair installed within every cell of his body – he wanted to scream, but it felt like there was a golf ball stuck in his throat. He ran, trying to make it to the skeleton, following them out of the clearing and into the woods.

"P-papyrus!", he stuttered, struggling to keep the skeleton on his line of sight. "Please!"

And there was a familiar whooshing sound, and Frisk stopped hearing the fast-paced footsteps from the skeleton running. He felt tears forming on his eyes. That sound... but Papyrus couldn't... he never...

"P-papyrus?", he called, his voice shaking badly. He was on the brink of a breakdown. "No... no... please..."

But nobody came.

His vision was getting blurred from the tears that were involuntarily forming. He never knew Papyrus could teleport like Sans did, but he was sure that was what happened. That whooshing sound gave no room for any doubts.

Frisk heard soft footsteps behind him and eagerly turned around, holding onto the futile hope it was the skeleton – but it was only MK. The green "blood" on their cheek had dried, but they had a sad and guilty look that showed that Papyrus' attack hadn't hurt him only on the outside. But even with that, the human could feel nothing but anger towards the yellow monster.

"ARE YOU HAPPY!?", he yelled, and MK flinched.

Deep inside, he knew it wasn't their fault – none of that had been their fault, but things were getting unbearable. Frisk fell to his knees, grabbing his head and letting out a loud sob, crying like he had never cried before. He let it all go while MK stood there, not sure of what to do.

" _want you... to... stick together... until... the end... promise?"_

 _God_ , he couldn't even keep that promise for mere three days. He felt miserable, and had the infantile wish that he was just in a bad dream – that he would one day wake up and find himself anywhere but in the middle of that war. He'd rather find himself back at the orphanage, the place he hated the most, if that would mean that war would stop. That all that pain would stop.

Why couldn't it just end right there? Why couldn't a lightning come from the sky and hit him, pulverizing him into tiny bits? Why couldn't a monster – or a human – appear and just _kill_ him? Death was the biggest mercy he could get – although he didn't deserve such mercy. After all he did, he didn't deserve to be happy. He didn't deserve to laugh or have a good time. He was destined to suffer until his very last breath.

Frisk wasn't sure for how long he kept crying in a desolated, hopeless state, slightly aware that MK was there looking. Eventually, he calmed himself down – the tears stopped falling, and the loud hiccups reduced to short sobs. He felt a little better, like he had just been disintoxicated from something poisonous, but he felt tired, sad and fed up with everything. What was he supposed to do? Where should he go?

He slowly stood up, wiping up the tears from his face. MK was a few feet away, and glanced nervously to the ground when the human looked at them. They had been watching him – that much was certain. He walked past them, sensing they were upset but still not even looking at their face, more because of shame than actual anger. He got back into the clearing and walked decisively to where his and Sans' backpacks were tossed.

Sitting down next to it, Frisk picked Sans' bag and pulled it closer, hesitating a little. Suddenly, a burning anger installed within his heart. That situation – everything – was _all_ Sans' fault. How could they have died just like that? How could they have left him, Papyrus and MK all alone? How did he _dare_ to give the human hope – hope that one day things would get better – and then just turn into dust? He wanted to throw the backpack away and kick it until it ripped, and all its contents were left there to be forgotten.

But then, the anger passed, leaving only an icy sorrow behind. He was being ridiculous – he knew Sans didn't ask for that. They died protecting the group. They died so that the others could live. He felt tears threatening to fall once again, and closed his eyes. There was so _much_ he wanted to say. He wanted to apologize for calling the skeleton a "selfish trashbag" all those months ago. He wanted to say he enjoyed (some of) their puns and jokes. He wanted to ask more about their work as a scientist, and about Dr. Gaster. He wanted to make the skeleton sure he considered them a brother – a part of a family he never had.

He wanted to say he missed them.

"Uh... you okay?"

Frisk opened his eyes once again and looked up. MK was there glancing at him with a mix of concern and guilt. He didn't feel angry at the reptilian monster anymore. It seemed it would only be the two of them from that point onward, and the prospective filled the human with an increasing anxiety.

"Ok, I guess that was a stupid question.", they said as Frisk didn't reply.

He simply looked back at the backpack he was holding and opened it. The first thing he saw were some food cans, which he immediately started to pick up from the bag and leave next to him, counting.

"S-so... you finally let go of the backpack?", asked MK.

From their behavior, it was clear they thought Frisk was still mad at them, but the truth was simply the human wasn't in mood to talk. He picked up Sans' water bottle and flashlight, taking out the batteries.

"It's like you said.", replied Frisk, and the yellow monster held his breath. "I can't sanctuarize the backpack. I have to let go... and move on."

MK nodded way too energetically, indicating he was still nervous. However, Frisk's response was the confirmation he needed to keep pressing forward, checking if the human wanted him around.

"There is something that's been bothering me.", he said, shifting his weight on his feet. "When Sans... you know... he bled... _red_."

For a moment, Frisk stopped what he was doing. Actually, that had been nagging his mind for a while. It was a shock when he saw the red liquid that looked like blood pouring out from the skeleton's wounds.

"As weird as it sounds, maybe it's just that skeletons bleed?", the human suggested.

"That's the problem. Skeletons _can't_ bleed.", stated MK. "And... well... monsters don't have red blood as humans do. Like, some species have blood-like fluid, like me, but it's never the color red."

Frisk frowned. If monsters couldn't bleed red, then what was it that poured from Sans' body on the night they died?

"Where are you getting at?", he asked.

"I don't know...", they replied, looking down. "It's just really bugging me."

The yellow monster was right to be bugged – if what they said was right that didn't make any sense. It seemed that would be yet another thing to be added to the mysteries shrouding Sans. When he first saw them in the Underground, Frisk never thought there was such a complex enigma under that everlasting grin.

"I guess we'll never know, now.", the human said simplistically, going back to searching the skeleton's backpack. MK seemed to settle for that in the moment.

He had already taken most of the things from the bag. He was happy to notice Sans had looted lots of food from the last town they "visited" – it would be more than enough for them until they reached the next city – if it wasn't overrun by humans, that was.

He then ended up picking up a piece of paper – and not any ordinary piece of paper. It was folded like an envelope. Frisk turned it around, confused, and found the words " _To Papyrus_ " written in what he presumed to be Sans' handwriting. The human felt his heart sinking. It was a letter to Papyrus, and although Frisk didn't read it, he knew _exactly_ what were its contents. But now, the taller skeleton was gone, and it was possible they'd never read it.

"Are you gonna open it?", asked MK, a bit curious.

"No.", replied Frisk firmly. "It's to Papyrus. I'll just hold it for him, in case he... comes back. Anyway, reading letters from dead people never leads to anything good."

"If you say so..."

The human grabbed his own backpack and placed the letter neatly inside one of its pockets, in a way it wouldn't screw up. In the end, he was still holding on to the hope the taller skeleton would return, even though the possibilities were slim, after all, MK and he had to keep moving. But then again, he was also doing it to comfort himself – carrying the letter made it feel like Sans was a bit closer.

Then, he remembered there was another thing in his backpack that belonged to the shorter skeleton, and MK seemed to be thinking about it too.

"Frisk, I hate to bring it up but... why on earth did you bottle Sans' dust up back at the factory?"

In all honesty, the human wasn't sure either. He was well aware there was a bottle full of monster dust in his backpack, and had a vague impression MK found it kind of creepy. Well, he was carrying someone's remains in a water bottle inside his bag – he had to admit that was at least a little peculiar.

"I...", Frisk attempted to reply, his voice failing a little. "I think... I mean... couldn't... when I thought about Sans there... in the factory... all alone and forgotten, I..."

MK looked sorrowfully at the human. They looked each other in the eyes, and Frisk knew the reptilian monster understood.

"Hey... I get it.", they said, looking down. Frisk noticed they weren't looking at the ground, but at their own chest, and remembered that MK kept a pendant with a small vial that held their mother's dust underneath their sweater. "Maybe we could... you know, do as monsters do in times like these? We could sprinkle his dust over things he liked."

Frisk gave a dry laugh. Of course the idea itself was good, but...

"There's _nothing_ in this rotten land that's worth of Sans.", he replied pessimistically.

The reptilian monster opened his mouth in an attempt to reply, but changed his mind, sitting down next to the human instead. Frisk simply shrugged and resumed searching Sans' backpack, slowly taking the last few supplies out. When the bag seemed empty, he picked it up and shook it upside down to be sure he left nothing behind. Another piece of paper fell to the ground. Curious, he picked it up. From the paper type, it looked like it was a photograph.

 _What the hell was that?_

As soon as he saw what the picture was, his hands started shaking violently. That was _impossible_. That had to be some kind of sick joke.

He screamed and let the photo fall to the ground again as a sharp pain bolted through his skull, grabbing his head in his hands.

He remembered.

He remembered _everything_.

It felt like his brain was going to explode.

A swirl of memories that had been long forgotten got back to him all in once, and they carried all sorts of feelings with them. Anger, hope, fear, joy, sadness... it was too much. He could hear MK talking to him, scared, but the voice sounded distant, muffled down by the billion of other noises and voices that screamed inside his head.

Eventually, it stopped, but Frisk kept holding his head, as if it would fall down from his neck if he let it go. His heart was pounding and he felt like he was about to throw up.

Breath in. Breath out.

"Frisk..?", asked MK with hesitation. "W-what happened?"

The human looked at the reptilian monster, and they seemed scared with what had just happened. Frisk couldn't blame them, but then, there was their question. How could he explain them what had happened? With his hands still shaking, he reached out for the photo carefully – like he was about to touch a bomb – and raised it up their eyes so that they could see it. MK looked at the photo and blinked a few times, their expression quickly turning into a confused one.

"Uh...", they said, astonished. "This is edited, right?"

"No.", replied Frisk, with a sour taste in his mouth. "It's the real deal."

And how did Sans was in possession of it? That should have been impossible.

"But that doesn't make _any_ sense!", exclaimed the yellow monster, shaking their head dismissively.

Frisk lowered the photo and hesitantly looked at it again. MK was right, that _didn't_ make any sense. Or at least, it shouldn't.

The photograph showed signs of time, but was well preserved regardless. A ten-year-old Frisk was in the middle, beaming. Sans was by his right with an arm around his shoulders and winking at the camera. Papyrus was next to them, smiling joyfully.

And then, there was the _rest_ of the picture. Alphys was by Frisk's left, half-covering her face with her hands, shyly. Undyne was next to her, with a confident smile and fist-pumping the air. She had her long hair in a ponytail, and was wearing casual clothes. She looked strikingly different from how Frisk remembered her – her posture was much more friendly and relaxed.

And then, to top it off, Toriel and Asgore were behind them, both smiling kindly. They were all on the surface – as proved by the imposing Mt. Ebott in the background. Everyone – they looked so happy. So full of hope. It filled the human's heart with a bittersweet feeling. It was sweet because it remembered him of better times. Of better days. And it was bitter because he knew that they didn't have a happy ending.

If they had, he wouldn't be in the middle of a war.

"Frisk... _when_ was this photo taken?", inquired MK.

The human was still shaken up about it, so he didn't notice what the yellow monster really wanted to know with that question.

"Six years ago..."

MK rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on! You escaped Underground alone. How's everyone up there with you? Look, even Undyne is there, _smiling_ , and she despises you more than anything!"

Frisk embraced himself in the height of his belly, feeling his stomach contorting. He didn't want to confront MK about the photograph, but they weren't going to let that subject drop. How would he explain it when he could barely do it to himself?

"This was taken six years ago...", attempted Frisk. "In another... well... life."

He saw immediately that wasn't the answer the reptilian monster was expecting. They frowned and shook their head, looking at Frisk as if he had gone crazy. He hated that look, even though he wished he had gone indeed crazy. That would have made things easier.

"Man, are y-"

"No, you didn't get it. This life we live here... is just one of many.", he interrupted, and MK stopped talking. "While we speak, there are other timelines playing, and the people in them are living their lives, not knowing about any of this. The people in this timeline too are, in general, unaware about it."

MK glanced a look to the photo that was now laying on the ground, starting to fit the puzzle pieces in their places.

"So basically, you're saying this photo is from another _life_? Another... um... 'timeline'?", they inquired, trying to understand what the human was saying. "But then, how did Sans have it? Actually, how is this even here?"

That was what Frisk couldn't understand. Still, there was something else to be told about that story – a small detail that changed _everything_. The very reason for all the sins he committed.

"Life goes on throughout all timelines. Normally that's what happens.", continued the human. "But six years ago... something happened. Timelines began to end and to mend with each other. To be entirely rewritten, or even destroyed. The cause... was an anomaly. _Me_."

MK's reaction was just as he expected – the reptilian monster looked at him with a mix of shock, confusion and curiosity. He sensed they were still skeptical about all that, but Frisk needed to keep talking. He had to get that – probably his darkest secret – out of his chest.

"You..?"

"My life here in the surface was... well, it was bad. So when I first fell into the Underground, and I met all those monsters who became my friends, I was the happiest I had ever been.", said Frisk, feeling a bit weird to be reminiscing about a life that technically never existed. "Then, I reached Asgore, and I managed to get past him and the barrier, but... monsters were still trapped Underground. And I... I wished to do something to help and... I found myself back at the Ruins. But nobody remembered me. But more than that: everyone was acting the same way they did when I first met them. Except... well..."

Except that sociopathic flower – they were well aware that hadn't been the first time Frisk had fallen down. They even mocked him for it, asking if they didn't have anything better to do. How they managed to retain their memories was something the human couldn't quite explain. Then again, he just learned there was someone else who kept their memories. It sent shivers down his spine.

"Anyway... that was how I learned... I could turn back time. I could reset things, _and start them all over again_. And when I realized that, I decided to use that power for the good. It took me a couple tries until I did everything that was necessary to break the barrier and free the monsters from the Underground. That was when this photo was taken."

He pointed to the photo on the ground. MK had a pensive expression instead of a skeptical one, which Frisk took as a good sign. Why would he go through the trouble of elaborating such a crazy lie, anyway?

"That makes sense. I guess.", said the reptilian monster after a while. "But there's one thing. If we are right here right now, that means..."

He looked nervously at Frisk, who in turn looked down, ashamed – after all, the human knew where that logic would lead them.

"Yeah.", he replied, nodding, with a sad look in his eyes. "I reset again... even after I had saved everybody. But don't bother asking why, because... I honestly can't remember. Something must have gone wrong, because when I reset that time, I lost all my memories from the previous timelines."

Frisk glanced at his palms, the white scars across them still visible.

"And now... we're here.", he completed. "I didn't start all over yet again because I didn't remember about it. I just... crossed the Underground, and never came back. And I made some horrible mistakes and poor decisions then. That's why things are the way they are now."

And that was just another thing he could add to his ever growing "guilt pile". All that pain and suffering, all those deaths from humans and monsters... it was all his fault. Why did he reset after things were perfect? Was it possible for him to ever get redemption?

"Sans... you knew about all this, didn't you?", Frisk mumbled to himself, picking the photo up and looking at the shorter skeleton. "Why didn't you tell me? God, you must have hated me."

Frisk would likely never know that. Sans could have forgiven him, despised him, or something in between. He looked at MK, thinking it wouldn't be surprising if they despised him too after learning all that. Their parents were dead because of him, after all.

But MK was looking back at Frisk with a soft, understanding expression that made them look a little older than they actually were.

"Dude, I don't know if I understand all this... but there's no use in blaming yourself for it now.", they said, slowly shaking their head. "Remember what you told me, about four months ago? We can't change our past, but we can change our future, and try to be better. You should focus on that. We can only move forward, now."

Frisk didn't think he deserved any form of forgiveness, but was deeply grateful for the yellow monster's support – then again, maybe it was because they didn't understand the gravity of the human's actions. Still, they had a point: they could only move forward – forward was the only way to go.

Or was it?

Frisk bolted upwards like a sudden shock had gotten through his body, as an idea quickly formed in his head. How could he have taken so long to realize it?

There _was_ a way for him to fix his mistakes.

"MK!", he said, looking at the yellow monster with his eyes lighting up. "MK, that's it!"

They looked up, confused.

"Uh... what's 'it'?"

"We've been talking about resets and going back in time!", explained Frisk, excited. "Which means forward is _not_ the only way to go. In fact... we can do the exact opposite. We can go _backwards_!"

It took a second, but MK realized what Frisk was saying, quickly standing up with a spooked expression.

"No... n-no way!", they said, stuttering a little. "You are actually thinking..."

But Frisk was so excited he started walking from one side of the clearing to the other, deep in thought.

" _Exactly_. We've been worried about stopping Undyne, and bringing this war to an end. But what if we make it so the war _never started_ in the first place? What if we make one last reset to fix everything?"

"But how do you intend to that?", inquired the yellow monster.

Frisk stopped walking, and put a hand on his chin, thinking. He didn't have a rational explanation for that, but somehow he had a feeling the answer lied where he first got his "power".

"I need to go back six years ago, when I first fell to the Underground.", he explained. "And for that... I have to return to where it all started. To Mt. Ebott. To the Underground."

"Whoa, whoa! Hold it, man!", exclaimed MK, cautiously. "There's a lot of 'what ifs' in this plan. _If_ we make it back to Mt. Ebott, and _if_ you actually manage to do a reset to six years ago... what guarantees you're not going to lose all your memories again, and do the same thing? We'd be stuck in this loop forever! What if... what if this is actually not the first time we're doing this?"

The human frowned. They _did_ have a point there. There were a bit too many holes in that plan for it to work as he intended. Still...

"I'll... have to work on that.", he replied, and MK looked disappointed. "Listen, I know for sure there's a way for me to reset and keep my memories... I just don't know it yet, but I'll figure something out."

"That's hardly reassuring, Frisk."

"Maybe so, but I have no other choice.", the human said. "Listen, I got a chance of saving everyone. And that includes the king and the queen, Sans and your parents – all those deaths were, in some degree, my fault. But I wanna make it right. I wanna fix it. And I'm sure as hell I'm doing it, no matter what."

He turned his back to MK, putting his hands on his hips and sighing. He always knew that, if he had a chance – no matter how small it was – to fix his mistakes, he would take it. That chance had finally presented itself, but he was aware he couldn't drag the reptilian monster with him. They didn't have anything to do with that, after all.

"I'll understand if you don't wanna come with me. I mean, the way back to Ebott will be dangerous, and I see you're not convinced this will work. That's why... that's why you can leave if you want. There won't... be any hard feelings, okay?"

Frisk managed to keep his voice steady, but deep down he had never been more scared. He was about to venture into the unknown, following a plan with dubious chances of success – if that wasn't frightening, he had no idea of what else would be. There was a moment of silence, long enough for Frisk to understand. He looked down.

So that was it, huh?

"Wow, you really _are_ an idiot."

Frisk turned around, surprised with MK's response, and got even more surprised when he noticed they were giving a confident smile.

"I mean, how can you even _think_ for one second I'll let you do this alone?", they continued, their smile not faltering. "You already told me you'd never leave me behind. Guess what, genius, this works both ways, even if you are the king of crappy plans. I'm never leaving you behind, Frisk. Like it or not, I'm coming along, and we'll do this together. Until the very end."

The reptilian monster smiled kindly, and Frisk couldn't help but smile back – and it felt like millennia had passed since he had last smiled. Of course, how could he have been so dumb? They've been together in this for too long to simply part ways. He felt tears coming to his eyes, but he held them back. He still had a little pride to hold onto – but he was really happy regardless.

"Thank you, MK."

The yellow monster nodded, and Frisk looked up to the sky tinted with an orange tone. On the bare minimum, he had an objective, and he would fight – or act – with all his strength to complete it. It wouldn't be easy, but knowing MK would be right there with him gave him even more motivation.

That time, in a strange twist of fate, backward was the only way to go.

And that filled him with determination.

* * *

 **END OF PART II**


	12. Rewind

**Part III: Undying Wish**

* * *

 _Act I_

* * *

"Frisk, I don't mean to say we're lost. But we're lost."

The human tried his best to ignore the monster's statement and unfolded another part of the big map he was holding. He knew for sure they weren't lost – they were just a bit off-trail, but it wasn't like he didn't know where he was.

However, another careful glance at the map made him give a frustrated sigh. That thing wasn't helping them either. Where did they get it in the first place?

"This doesn't make any sense.", he mumbled.

"Dude, just... look around you!", exclaimed MK, impatient. "The trees here are kinda far from each other, and all the woods we've been through were super closed. I hate to break it to you, but somehow we're getting even _further_ from Ebott."

Putting the map down with an exasperated move, the human glanced an annoyed look at MK. That was the _last_ thing he wanted to hear. He couldn't have messed up so badly, he just couldn't.

He couldn't afford to make these kinds of mistakes. Not when there was so much at stake.

The forest they were in was indeed very different from the type they were used to explore up until that point. It was much alike the woods that grew in colder regions – the trees had thinner trunks and were farther from each other. During that time of year, they were also leafless, and foliage was scattered across the ground. Frisk would have thought that was a rather beautiful sight – he had always enjoyed autumn – if he wasn't so stressed out.

"Don't say that.", he said, glancing MK a cold stare. "Look at this map, then. It doesn't indicate any forest of the kind either."

"When did this crappy map ever indicated _anything_?", replied the reptilian monster.

"It's better than nothing!"

"I have my doubts about it."

Frisk pressed his hands against his closed eyes and took a deep breath. In moments like those, the best thing to do was to keep cool and think clearly. They had been fine up until that point – what could have gone wrong? He needed to rule out the possibilities.

"Okay, let's think this through.", said Frisk, and MK nodded. "When could we possibly have changed our course without even noticing?"

He was sure there wasn't any – he just wanted MK to say they had been wrong all that time. They weren't lost. However, the yellow monster looked at Frisk with extreme annoyance and disbelief.

"I've told you a hundred times!", they said, motioning their head for Frisk to pull the map, which he did.

MK bended and picked up a dry stick on the ground – something the human found a bit unusual, but he didn't made any remarks about it – and used it to point at a town indicated on the map.

"See 'ere?", they said, their voice funny because they couldn't close their mouth. "'en you 'ade us go around this town 'ere i's 'en we got lost."

The reptilian monster stared as Frisk looked astonished at the map – spitting the stick from their mouth a few seconds after as if it was no big deal. It was true – the human made them go around that particular town because if they were seen there again they would probably be killed – but how could he have made them turn around _completely_?

Yet, there was no other explanation. Frisk messed that one up. Almost a month worth of traveling lost for nothing.

"We're lost.", said the human, defeated. MK sighed.

He had never felt so dumb before in his life. How could that have happened? What made it worse was that they finally had a clear objective – to return to Mt. Ebott. What kept him going was the knowledge that he could fix everything – fix that war, fix all that suffering, fix all the lost lives that were stolen. And suddenly, he was there, all aware that they were further than ever from completing said objective. It seemed like fate itself was mocking him.

And then, in a fit of anger, he turned around and kicked the tree behind him. His foot probably hurt more than the tree, but he didn't care. He knew he'd regret it later – if he thought rationally he would see he was being childish – but in the moment he didn't care about it. He needed to redirect that anger towards someone, and there was only one candidate available.

"This is _your_ fault!", he said, pointing an accusatory finger at MK, who stepped back, outraged.

" _What_!?"

"If you had told me we were lost before, we wouldn't be here!"

MK opened his mouth as if to reply, but closed it again, shaking his head dumbfounded  
"Are you serious!?"

"Serious as hell!", Frisk didn't even notice he was raising his voice with each word. "I know you didn't really want to come along and that you thought going back to Mt. Ebott was a stupid plan, but this..! This is sabotage!"

The reptilian monster just stared at Frisk with a confused look, their mouth still half-open as if about to say something that couldn't be translated into actual words.

"I can't believe it.", they said, nodding. "You've finally lost it. You're crazy!"

Seeing red, Frisk approached MK aggressively, clenching his teeth.

"Do you think I didn't notice?", he said, every word full of despise. "You think all this 'reset' and 'timeline' stuff is bullshit, right? You think I'm delusional, right? How do you think that makes me feel, MK? Huh, how!?"

Frisk could see he was actually getting in their nerves, which gave him some sort of perverted satisfaction.

"You know what, screw it!", they said. "Yeah, I think this stuff is all a fairytale! You are _oh_ , so desperate to fix everything, because _of course_ you can fix everything, that you can't even separate reality from fantasy anymore!", they made a mocking grimace and changed their voice in a poor attempt to imitate the human. "' _Look, I'm Frisk! I'm human and I can do everything! Don't worry, I'm gonna save everyone because I'm such a noble hero!_ '"

That infantile mockery was the last straw Frisk needed to finally lose what little patience he still had. With a sudden move, he pushed MK away. The monster stumbled backwards, and then looked at the human with an animalistic expression.

"Oh, you asked for it!", they said.

They charged at Frisk and he, despite being good at dodging, didn't manage to outsmart that one. MK hit, sending him straight to the ground, making him fall with his back with a loud thud. It hurt a lot, but the human quickly stood up once again. He couldn't stand feeling so humiliated – and it was even worse when it came from the yellow monster. The two looked at each other with looks of anger and despise. Frisk wasn't about letting that one go – MK needed to _pay_ for that.

However, when Frisk gave a step forward, MK's expression suddenly changed, their face turning pale and their eyes showing fear. It was so sudden the human felt all the anger seeping away from his body. However, he noticed the monster wasn't looking at him, but _behind_ him. Dread filled his heart as he slowly turned around to see what had spooked them so much.

Two humans were a few feet away from them. One of them was a middle-aged man with graying hair, and the other was a younger lady with short brown hair. They both held submachine guns and looked at Frisk and MK with intrigued expressions, as if they were watching two wild animals interacting. The human wondered for how long they had been there without him noticing.

Several seconds passed without no one moving an inch. Frisk's mind raced – were those two alone or were they part of a larger group? And why weren't they doing anything? But he didn't fear for his life – but for MK's. Frisk was safe: he was human. MK, on the other hand...

And that last thought filled the human with a primal fear that made every cell of his body scream to run away.

He obeyed it.

Before he knew it, he was already at full speed.

"RUN!", he shouted at the yellow monster, who joined him.

He heard the exclamations from the humans behind, but couldn't make what they were saying. His legs moved in auto-pilot – he probably would have difficulty stopping. Part of him expected to hear shots, as the humans were armed, but either his mind wasn't picking up on it or they, for whatever reason, chose not to shoot. However, he knew he was being followed – he could hear the fast-paced "crunches" on the leaves behind them.

How many of them were there? Frisk glanced at his sides, but didn't see anything – it was almost like being chased by a ghost. He ran with no specific direction in mind – which he was sure he would regret later, but for the moment he was more worried about getting away. And MK...

Wait, where was MK?

With an increasing panic in his heart, which made him almost trip and fall, he noticed the yellow monster wasn't close to him – they got separated. Where had they gone?

Somehow, the human managed to spot a tree with a larger trunk than the rest of the forest's average, and ran towards it. Breathless, he pressed his back against it, trying to pant in the most silent way he could manage. It didn't sound he was being followed anymore, which was a good sign.

 _BANG!_

The loud noise made Frisk jump in his place, startled. He felt a sick burning in his stomach. It sounded distant – but not too distant, and that wasn't good. Worst-case scenarios began to pop up in his brain, one after another.

No... Please, no... They had to be okay. They _had_ to.

Frisk shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. He needed to stay calm in that situation, although that didn't stop the small tears that formed in his eyes.

Taking his backpack out, he unzipped it and searched furiously for the handgun he kept there. His hands were shaking a little, which only made the task harder than it should be. Why didn't he always keep that damn thing with himself, anyway?

Nevertheless, he found it. At least he had been careful enough to already keep it with a loaded magazine. He carefully held it with his two hands and pointed it at the ground, wearing his backpack again. Taking a deep breath, he began to walk towards the place that " _bang_ " came from.

He walked slowly in an attempt of diminishing the crunchy sound that was made when he stepped on the dried leaves. A cold wind blew through the forest, strong at first, making the human recoil for a while, but it quickly lost its strength, reduced only to a distant howling.

Holding that gun made him nervous. Yes, he had practiced a bit of shooting all by himself, and he could say he was quite comfortable with static targets, though moving, live ones were another completely different story. He could only hope he wouldn't ever need to do it, but perhaps that hope was about to vanish right there.

Suddenly, he heard the leaves crunching behind him and, quick as a lightning, he turned around to face whoever was behind him, pointing the gun at them.

"Frisk?"

"MK?"

The human pointed the gun down once more as soon as he noticed the figure in front of him was the reptilian monster. It took a while to hit him, but when it did, the human let out a sigh of relief.

MK was fine. He was _alive_.

"Man, when I heard that ' _bang_ ', I... I...", he said, and he sounded equally relieved.

"Yeah. Me too."

And just when it seemed everything was okay, Frisk heard more crunching sounds around them. He looked, feeling his heart sink. A group of humans – which included the man and woman they encountered before – had surrounded them. They probably had been nearby, waiting for the right moment to show up.

That behavior made Frisk feel like a helpless pray among a pack of deadly wolves. All the people on the group were armed – mostly with submachine guns, but a couple held simple pistols like he did, and a middle-aged man with brown skin held an assault shotgun.

The human looked around, looking for a way out. Their chasers weren't pointing their guns at him – yet. He noticed most of them kept their focus on MK, which was only natural, but not comforting in the least.

Almost instinctively, he pointed his handgun at the man who held the shotgun – which turned out not to be the wisest decision, as every person around him, with the exception of the man he targeted, pointed their guns at the human. Someone could cut the tension with a knife, and just some seconds after, Frisk realized what he did was just another poor decision. He didn't need to have drawn the weapon – he had talked his way out of conflict before, couldn't he have done the same?

But he could still do it. Even if he started out poorly, he _could_ get him and MK out of that situation, and he was determined to do so.

"Let us go.", he commanded, his voice surprisingly firm.

Frisk didn't point the gun down, and kept staring at the man. Something started to sprout in the back of his mind. That guy was... familiar, to say the least. Had they seen each other before?

The man had a look of concern across his face. He raised his hand and motioned for the others to put down their weapons, which they reluctantly did. That was impressive – if they obeyed so quickly, considering the circumstances, they must really trust his commands. Was he their leader?

"Now, now.", he said. "There's no need for this, kid. Would you put your gun down, too?"

Frisk clenched his teeth, full of suspicion.

"Why should I? Why did you follow us? Who shot?"

"Hey, it was you who ran away, for starters.", said another man situated by Frisk's left – the first one Frisk had met earlier. "Barry was the one who shot – he's still learning.", he glanced a look at yet another man opposite to him, who in turn looked down ashamed. "Anyway, we're not here because of you, we're here because of that _thing_. We saw you having a struggle."

They looked at MK, who was behind the human, when they said that. Frisk gave them the coldest look he could manage.

"He's _not_ a thing.", he stated, decisively. "He's with me. He's my friend."

"Your... friend?"

The man looked at his "leader", who in turn looked at Frisk with a surprised expression, like they had just realized something.

"Wait... you're... We've seen you before!", he said. "You're the human who's been traveling with some monsters, right?"

Another gush of air blew, making some of the dried leaves roll around on the ground. Part of Frisk's hair covered his eyes, but he quickly shook his head to keep his vision clear. During his practices with the handgun, he learned to imagine a line linking the gun and his target. It made it easier to hit.

The human thought it was weird he was being recognized as "the human who travelled with monsters"... was it _that_ uncommon? Did no one else did that?

"You say it like it's a big deal.", he said, coldly.

"Well, excuse me, but it _is_ kind of a big deal.", the man replied, shaking his head. "I mean, those monsters appeared out of nowhere and started killing humans. To see someone side by side with one of them is a bit odd, under those circumstances."

Frisk bit his lip. Those people were probably part of one of the many resistance groups that had emerged during that war. Perhaps they had crossed paths in the past – Frisk and his group probably running away from these humans, trying not to be killed and captured. And now, in another strange twist of fate, they were reunited.

"We've met two days after the monsters appeared.", explained Frisk. "He was just trying to survive, like we did. So we joined him."

"'We'?", pointed out the man. "Yeah... that's right... if I recall, you were with more... monsters. Where are they?"

Suddenly, it felt like a golf ball was stuck in Frisk's throat. The man didn't know – he couldn't possibly have known – but he brought up a wound that hadn't quite healed. Yes, the human and MK were traveling with two other monsters. Two skeleton brothers. But they...

Frisk didn't even notice he wasn't pointing the gun at the man anymore. He looked at the ground.

"I... see.", simply said the man, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry."

Frisk could feel the glances of the other people, and it annoyed him. None of those people actually cared about it – he didn't need their pity.

"Listen...", said the man, approaching. Frisk looked up. "You seem to be quite young, and you've been through a lot. I wanna know your story. Come with us. We have a camp on an abandoned prison not far from here. We can take you there."

Now that was an unexpected outcome. The human heard an uncomfortable movement behind him, and glanced at MK. The reptilian monster shrugged, as if to say "your call", but it was clear they were not at ease with the idea. The other humans didn't seem to be taking it any better.

"I'm... not sure.", replied Frisk. "Your group doesn't seem to be fond of this idea, either. It will be the best for everyone if we simply part ways now."

"I understand you're afraid. But rest assured no one will harm you, or your friend, under my watch. I give you my word."

Frisk shifted his weight on his feet, but his mind was already thinking about the future. Maybe it would be good to tag along with that group, but he shouldn't take that decision alone. The last time he gave directions without asking for MK's opinion got them lost, and he wasn't thinking on making the same mistake again.

"We... need to talk." stated Frisk, looking at the yellow monster, who gave a nervous nod. The man glanced a decisive look at everyone on his group.

"Take your time... we need to talk as well."

Motioning his head for them to walk a bit further so they wouldn't be listened, Frisk and MK got out of the circle – the people looking at them, some curious, some suspicious. The human counted eight in that group, but there were probably more in their camp.

"How does an abandoned prison sound?", asked Frisk as soon as they made some distance. The human watched as the other group discussed over something, their voices in a low tone.

"I don't know, man...", they said, uncomfortable. "What does that guy want with you, anyway? It sounds like a trap to me."

Frisk glanced at the reptilian monster and then at the man, an odd feeling passing through him. He had seen that man – the leader of the group – before, and it wasn't during a fight or anything of the sort.

"I think he senses...", began Frisk, slowly looking back at MK. "He senses that I know more than it appears. He wants to know about it."

MK looked at the man. Some people glanced back, and the monster quickly avoided the look.

"Yeah, he's weird.", they said. "Would you tell him? About falling in the Underground six years ago? And the resets?"

"Maybe not everything, but perhaps saying the right things can make us a miracle.", explained Frisk, methodically. "It's possible they have food, supplies... and maybe even vehicles."

MK's expression lit up when he heard the last word.

"Vehicles? We could..."

"Yeah... Mt. Ebott wouldn't be so far away now, would it?"

The reptilian monster kicked a bunch of leaves that were under his feet, and watched them fall to the ground again, thinking. He then looked at Frisk, resigned.

"Fine. It's not like we know where we are anyway, so this is our best bet.", he said. "I hope that guy stays true to his promise, though."

Frisk nodded, energetic. They were presented a chance – it was better to take it, even though they would need to be careful.

"Alright.", said the human, turning around and walking towards the group. "Let's do this."

The people were involved in a heated discussion that began to die out as soon as Frisk and MK approached. Everyone looked at them, and Frisk decisively stared at their leader, who seemed earnest.

"We decided to go with you.", he announced. "But we'll be keeping an eye out on you.", he quickly added.

"Yeah, and we'll be keeping an eye out on _you_.", replied the man, his expression serious. However, a second later he winked and offered a handshake. "Welcome abroad, kid. The name's Leonard Johnson."

Frisk looked at the hand for a while before firmly grasping and shaking it.

"Frisk.", he replied simplistically. "This is MK.", he complemented, indicating the reptilian monster with his head.

"Nice to meet you, MK.", Leonard greeted. MK nodded. "Well, let's go back to the camp, then. You two stay in the middle with Chris and Heather."

"C'mon.", said a woman, touching Frisk's shoulder. Noticing she was the woman that saw him and MK fighting, he went with her, and the yellow monster followed them closely.

With that, the group began to walk through the forest, making their way back to the camp. Leonard lead the way, and two other people (which included the "trigger-happy" Barry) followed just behind him. Then, Frisk and MK walked between Chris and Heather. Finally, three other people closed the line.

In the beginning, it seemed nobody was really willing to talk about anything. Occasionally the people right in front of Frisk and MK would glance back at them – of course, suspicion was not off the table yet. It made the human slightly nervous, but for the moment he'd have to deal with it.

As the light of the day slowly started being replaced by the twilight, giving the forest an eerie feeling, Frisk began to think maybe that "camp" wasn't as close as Leonard made them believe earlier. They had been walking for more than an hour, but no one was thinking about stopping. Those people were certainly determined. The human thought asking about how long they still had to walk to reach their destination, but dismissed the idea as he thought it would probably sound too childish.

Soon enough, people began to talk in whispers. Frisk couldn't exactly make any sense of what they were talking about, but it wasn't like he was actually trying to, anyway. The low whispers made it so the human barely noticed when the man that walked next to him – Chris – began to hum a little tune.

Frisk stared at him. The tune was cheerful and kind of goofy. It inevitably reminded him of Papyrus – and that he had no idea of what happened to the taller skeleton. He tried not to think too much about the skeleton brothers – doing so felt like thrusting a knife into his heart – but he couldn't help but remember Papyrus and their positive, trusting attitude. At least, that was how Frisk remembered them, although he knew that probably had changed. He missed them – things seemed easier than they actually were when they were around. He wondered where they were and if they thought about the human and MK – and if they were even alive, for starters.

"What? Something on my face?", said Chris, noticing Frisk had been staring.

The human was taken by surprise by the question and quickly shook his head.

"N-no. Sorry."

"Huh, it's okay. I bet you were just impressed by my singing skills."

Frisk thought about pointing out that "humming" was very different from "singing", but he wasn't really in the mood for that type of conversation.

"Sure."

To Frisk's disappointment, Chris didn't seem to be willing to let the conversation drop.

"Geez, just trying to lighten up the mood! How old are you, kid?"

"17."

"Whoa, you're _young_!", said the older man, sounding genuinely impressed. "You could, you know, have a happier expression. You don't look very juvenile for a teenager."

The human let out an impatient sigh. He _definitely_ wasn't ready for that conversation. He tried to remain silent in the hopes Chris would give up, but he didn't seem to be so lucky.

"Your name is Frisk, right?", they continued. "Heh, you don't look very ' _frisky_ ', though."

"What's _that_ even supposed to mean?", replied the human, failing to keep quiet. He mentally facepalmed himself.

"God, leave the kid alone, Chris.", said the woman next to MK, Heather, glancing the man a reprehensive look. "Nobody deserves your stupid puns."

Unfortunately, Chris wasn't bothered by the comment – in fact, it seemed to have fueled him with some sort of determination. The _worst_ kind of determination.

"Well, what about some knock-knock jokes, then? Everybody loves knock-knock jokes!"

"No, _you_ love knock-knock jokes.", pointed Heather, rolling her eyes.

"Knock-knock!"

"Chris, no."

"Knock-knock."

"You're such a child!", she exclaimed. "How were you in the army?"

"Knock. Knock.", repeated Chris, decisive.

Frisk and MK looked at each other, unsure of what to do. It felt like they were in the middle of a crossfire – a very peculiar one, at that.

" _Fine_. Who's there?", said Heather, defeated. From the look in her eyes, Frisk deduced she thought it was better to get it over soon.

"Nana."

"Nana who?"

"Nana your business, that's who!"

Chris laughed in a moderate, low tone, though it seemed he was having a hard time controlling himself – it was clear he thought the joke was the funniest thing on Earth. Heather sighed. Frisk, however, didn't feel embarrassed like he used to when he heard knock-knock jokes – and he had heard a lot of knock-knock jokes during the past months. And for that very same reason, he felt a mixture of discomfort and...

"Alright, alright.", said Chris as soon as he stopped laughing. "Knock-knock."

"Oh god, there's _more_!?", asked Heather, exasperated.

"Knock-knock."

If looks could kill, Chris would have fallen dead in his spot. Instead, he kept looking expectantly at Heather, who stared at him impatiently.

"Who's. There.", she said through gritted teeth.

"Impatient cow."

Heather took a while to answer, filling the air with a confused, comic feeling.

"Impatient co-"

"MOO!"

Chris burst out laughing – a lot less held back this time – and some other people (including the leader, Leonard) giggled a little too. Heather shook her head in a dismissive way. In any way, Chris' jokes had an effect of lighting up the mood for everyone, which was an important thing considering the circumstances.

Except for Frisk. Had it been any other way, he'd have given a little laugh or two, or perhaps reacted the same way as Heather, but that time, it was different. The jokes reminded him too much of _them_. And it hurt.

Those jokes weren't funny anymore.

* * *

When they found the highway, Frisk was genuinely impressed. He didn't know they had been close to one as the map didn't show it. Perhaps that map would be better in a trash bin – how had they managed to keep using it during the past months?

They followed the highway until it split into a discreet, sinuous path they took. Frisk could feel everyone was tired, which was why nobody was saying anything. However, from their looks, he reckoned they were really close to the camp.

About half an hour later, Frisk spotted the building, and his jaw dropped.

The place was once a really big prison – and from what the human remembered, quite famous too, being the main jail from the region. Was it abandoned? What happened to the ones who were confined there? Did they break free or were they killed?

Those questions swirled in his head as they approached. The sky wasn't fully dark yet, but it was already a bit difficult to see. They stopped by the entrance gates and it took Frisk a while to notice someone was coming to get them open. It looked like it was young woman.

Chris gave a low whistle.

"I see she did a good job watching the camp over."

Frisk looked at him, slightly confused.

"She was _alone_ here?", he asked, having a hard time believing they had trusted their camp – that enormous prison's safety – to just one person.

"Oh, you wouldn't be surprised if you knew her.", stated the older man. "Eileen is a tough girl, that's for sure. I bet you'll get along _reeeeally_ well."

There was a slight hint on sarcasm on his voice that Frisk didn't bother pressing on.

The girl opened the gates, and had her eyes set on Leonard. In the second it took for her to run towards him, Frisk immediately knew she was his daughter – their facial features were strikingly similar. The human thought she was going to hug him, or perhaps say she was relieved they had finally come back.

"What the hell, dad!?"

She then walked right in front of Frisk and MK, looking them both from top to bottom, utterly scandalized. The human reckoned she was about the same age as him.

"What were you _thinking_!?", she exclaimed, looking back at her father.

"Calm down, Leen.", he replied, serene. "They're survivors, like..."

"Bullshit!", she interrupted. "You... I... God, I can't believe you brought a _monster_ here!"

Frisk looked at MK, expecting to see them upset by that reaction, but they were with their jaw open in a silly way, their eyes glued on the girl.

"Eileen, please.", asked Leonard. "This is the human we used to talk about all the time. He's the boy we've seen traveling with the monsters."

"Yeah? So _what_!?", she replied. "Dad, have you forgotten? What if they are not human at all?"

Frisk noticed that comment didn't bother him, when it felt it should. He payed it no mind.

"Oh, I assure you they're _very_ human, sweetie.", he stated, opening a little smile and glancing at Frisk. "I remember him. He's from our hometown. I saved him from some monsters on the same night they appeared."

It was like all the air had left Frisk's lungs when the information hit him. Of course, he had seen Leonard way back then. They saved him from a group of monsters who had attacked him in the night the monsters broke free and began that war. The human's face must had shown crystal clear signs of shock, because the leader gave a little chuckle.

Eileen, however, didn't seem to be that impressed, still looking at him and MK full of suspicion. In a sense, she wasn't that different from the others of the group, but her reaction was way more extreme.

"Anyway, let's discuss things over inside.", said Leonard, waving his hand in a sign for the group to follow him. MK kept in place with their jaw still open, and Frisk had to poke them for them to snap out of it and follow the group.

They entered the gates – the three people behind Frisk closing them as they passed through. They walked across the "courtyard", and the human's heart leaped when he saw two vehicles parked there – two minivans, no least. Maybe, _just_ maybe, they could use them to go back to Mt. Ebott.

Having never been into a prison before, Frisk was half-expecting to enter a lobby, but of course a jail wouldn't bother with that. Instead, everyone gathered in a long corridor. Someone turned on the lights, and the human had to blink a few times to get used to the sudden clarity. Once his vision accustomed with it, he could get a clear view of his surroundings.

The walls were gray, and the paint was cracked and peeled on various spots. It seemed the place hadn't been kept very clean or tidy for a while – and Frisk had doubts if it ever was. There was a window on the left wall, nearby the entrance that gave view to the adjacent room (where officers would check the inmate's belongings, Frisk wondered?) and its door was just next to it. On the right side there was another plain gray door that the human had no clue where it could lead. An iron double white door stood by the end of the corridor.

"Well, welcome to our 'camp'!", said Chris, his cheerfulness almost inappropriate in that place. "I love telling my jokes here. I always have such a captive audience!"

"Alright Chris, that's quite enough.", said Leonard, although he was smiling.

"How did you find this place?", asked Frisk, curious.

"We just stumbled upon it. It was already abandoned.", explained Heather. "It turns out jails are great places to set camp. They're fortified and provide great protection against potential threats."

"Yeah, except when we open the front door so the threat can come in.", stated Eileen, looking fiercely at Frisk and MK.

"Eileen...", warned Leonard.

She payed no mind to her father and kept staring at the human and the monster, trying to intimidate them, but Frisk simply looked back with the most determined look he could manage. MK, on the other hand, looked to the ground, uncomfortable.

"Anyway, we'll have a nice, long talk tomorrow, Frisk, so you can ask all your questions then.", intervened Leonard. "But for now, we're all tired, so I think we should call it a day. Heather, can you find them a place to stay?"

"Sure thing."

Frisk wondered if they were talking about the prison cells, and as if reading his mind, the leader immediately spoke.

"Don't worry, it's not a cell. But it doesn't mean it won't ever be."

He winked when he said that, but Frisk caught the hint of a real warning behind that warm, playful tone. They needed to be good, or else...

"Let's go, you two.", called Heather, opening the door on the right, which lead to a set of stairs.

Frisk and MK followed her, while the rest of the group discussed about the night watch. The human thought about offering to start it, but held himself back. He knew they wouldn't accept it – they didn't trust him, not completely at least. As they walked silently through the corridors, their steps echoing in the halls, he wondered what Leonard really wanted to know about him. The human had sensed the leader suspected he knew a lot more about monsters and the situation than it appeared, but even then, why did they care about such thing? Was it only because of irresistible curiosity?

When the human noticed, they were already crossing a set of small rooms that probably used to be the guards bedrooms when the prison was working. Heather looked through a couple of them before stopping at one that had two beds next to each other. Frisk and MK stepped inside.

It was a rather depressing bedroom. It had two small windows by its up corners – but that didn't make those four gray walls look any less like a claustrophobic box. The walls had cracks and moisture spots caused by water infiltration. In a sense, the only thing that made it better than a prison cell were the beds – that were probably only a tiny bit more comfortable than the prisoners beds.

But Frisk didn't complain. There were a lot worse places to spend the night – and he knew that by experience.

"Well, there you go.", said Heather, smiling kindly. "If you need anything, just shout or something. We'll bring the rations for you, so don't worry."

"Thanks.", replied Frisk, smiling back. "But don't sweat about the rations, MK and I have our own."

"Oh, that's good!", she said, nodding. "Well, I'm going then. Just hope I don't have to do the night shift with Chris again..."

Giving a small goodbye wave, she headed out of the room, leaving Frisk and MK alone. The human dropped his backpack, letting it fall to the floor with a thud, and sat on the bed, which made a squeaking sound. Oddly enough, that reminded him of his old bed at the orphanage. MK sat on the other one, and by their expression it was clear they thought that wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, either.

"Man, what a weird day, huh?", they stated.

Frisk nodded, smiling. After everything, he was glad the yellow monster was there with him – if not for them, he would probably be dead already.

And then, he felt a sting in his heart – something that made the human look down, ashamed. He knew all too well what it was: remorse. He knew he didn't treat MK very well earlier that day, and he knew the monster, who had always been so loyal to him, didn't deserve such treatment. Frisk clenched his fists, uncomfortable.

"Uh... so...", he said, clearing his throat and looking at the reptilian monster. "I'm sorry... for earlier... I shouldn't have yelled at you, or pushed you. It wasn't your fault we got lost. I was dumb. Anyway...", he looked to the side, thinking how it was difficult to apologize when he actually recognized he had been wrong. "Sorry."

"Hey, cut it out!", they replied, giving a shy smile. "I'm sorry too. I said some nasty things earlier as well. I don't think you're crazy. I was... just trying to get on your nerves, I guess?"

Frisk gave a dry laugh.

"I know the feeling. It's stupid, right?"

"Yeah."

"You're a better friend than I deserve."

The weight of his words lingered in the air for a while.

"Dude, no...", said MK, shaking his head. "Listen, everybody makes mistakes. You don't need to put yourself so low every time you do something wrong. You apologized, I apologized, and we're fine, okay?"

He gave a supportive smile, and Frisk couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay."

They stood there for a while in silence. The human felt strangely lighthearted – yes, apologizing felt good, like lifting a weight from his shoulders. In that moment, he knew that, despite everything, they were fine.

"But..."

He looked at the yellow monster, who in turn was gazing at the ground with a thoughtful expression.

"Frisk... do you really think resetting is the right thing to do?"

They looked back at Frisk. The human, in turn, thought that type of question would just annoy him, but strangely enough, it just made him slightly surprised. And yet...

"Of course I think it's the right thing to do.", he replied firmly. "I wouldn't be pursuing it if I didn't think so."

MK rubbed his feet on the ground in an uncomfortable manner.

"Even then, are you not... like, scared? Are you really willing to just _erase_ six years of your life just like that?"

"I'm scared as hell."

Feelings that couldn't be quite translated into words passed through him, and it made him confused. Those six years after his journey in the Underground were spent with him thinking he went insane, being scolded by Mrs. Magda and hanging out with bad company. Drinking. Smoking. It wasn't like anything good had happened.

Then why was he so scared?

"But I know...", he continued. "This reset I want to do is for the best. My... wish to do it is stronger than any fear I have, because I know everyone will be happier. I'll be happier too."

MK looked up, and their expression was difficult to read. They could be agreeing with him, or not. Most likely, they were just scared, too. The room was filled with an empathic silence, and Frisk was grateful for it. No matter what was their opinion, he was sure they understood the human's point like no one else ever could.

"Good. Yeah, good.". they said, not looking at anything in particular. "So, I saw the vehicles outside. What's your crappy plan this time?"

To be honest, Frisk had not really given a thought about that. He considered the fact Leonard had actually been really nice to him and MK, and that maybe...

"We can just ask for it."

MK raised his eyebrows (or the place where his eyebrows would normally be if he had any) in a clear display of surprise, and Frisk gave an annoyed sigh. Did they think he was going to suggest to _steal_ it? What kind of person did they think he was?

"But how?", they asked.

"Leonard said tomorrow I can ask all the questions I want.", the human explained. "But I think he's also going to ask _his_ questions, then. If I convince them going to Mt. Ebott is a good idea, they may even want to come with us. And it would be nice to have a large group for a change."

MK nodded slowly, understanding the logic.

"Right. But will you tell them about the...", he began, looking at the door. "Uh..."

Frisk blinked for a moment, unsure of why MK stopped asking the question, but then looked at the door too. That girl, Eileen, stood there, looking suspiciously at the two. A burning feeling passed through the human's throat. Had she simply appeared there, or had she been eavesdropping that whole time?

"Um, h-"

"Don't even bother.", she said, and Frisk closed his mouth. "I'm just passing by to give you a warning. My father might think you are okay, but, human or not, I don't trust you. Actually, other people in the group don't trust you either, but they believe in my father's judgement. But I know better."

She looked straight into Frisk's eyes so fiercely it was almost as if she could see his soul. The human didn't like the way she spoke to him, and every time she said something he became less and less fond of her. Didn't she have anything better to do?

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry about that.", said Frisk, dryly. "What can we do for you?"

"I'd tell you to leave, but my father wouldn't allow that.", she replied, rolling her eyes. "Just know I'll be keeping an eye out on you. If you stray from the line _ever_ so slightly..."

She didn't complete the sentence, but the message was given. With a quick turn, she exited the room, and Frisk heard the sounds of her footsteps getting progressively distant. After some seconds, he stood up from his bed and walked to the bedroom's entrance, checking the corridor to see if she really had left.

"Can you _believe_ it?", he said, still looking at the corridor.

"Yeah, man.", replied MK. "She's so..!"

"Yeah... _so_..!"

"Cool!"

"Rude!"

Frisk immediately looked back at MK, his face scrunched up in disbelief. The yellow monster stared at him, their mouth half-open, regretting what they had just said.

" _Really_ , MK?", asked Frisk, a mocking grin starting to plaster across his face.

The reptilian monster closed his mouth, refusing to speak. The region around his cheeks got a darker shade of yellow, and Frisk noticed that was what happened when he blushed.

That opportunity couldn't be allowed to pass.

" _Oww_ , don't worry MK.", the human said, winking. "I won't make fun of your crushes."

"She's not my crush!"

The human simply stared at them, his wide grin not faltering for a second.

"C-cut it out, man!", complained the yellow monster, breaking the eye contact.

Frisk gave a genuine laugh while he laid down on his bed, his fingers intertwined on the back of his head.

"Okay, okay...", he said.

They stood in silence for a while before a funny, tingling sensation passed through Frisk's body. Oh, he simply _had_ to do that. He hummed a little tune for a while before finally adding some "lyrics" to it.

"' _Eileen and MK, sitting in a tree, k_ -'"

"STOP!"

* * *

The lights were out, and MK snored soundly on the other bed, deep in slumber. Frisk too, was slowly drafting towards sleep when a little detail from a not-so-distant memory sprouted on his mind.

He jolted up with his heart racing and his stomach contorting.

No, it _had_ to be a coincidence. It just couldn't...

"MK!", he whispered, and as it didn't wake the yellow monster up, the human got up and poked MK until they began to shift sides. "MK!"

"Wha... what?", they replied, barely conscious.

Frisk's breathing was so fast it took a while for him to actually be able to form the words.

"Leonard Johnson.", he finally said. "The leader's name is Leonard Johnson! _Leo J_!"

MK looked drowsily at the nervous wreck of a human before him for a while, clearly not understanding what was so important about that. But then, the information sunk in, and they remembered. Their expression became a shocked one.

"Oh my god.", they said, sitting up on the bed. "It _can't_ be them. If it's them, they'll never want to go back to Mt. Ebott!"

Deep down, Frisk had the hope it was all a coincidence, but everything was matching up perfectly. The name, the fact they recognized the human's group from when they crossed a town...

With his heart sinking, he sat on the bed, covering his face with his hands and taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"What do we do?", asked MK in a hopeless tone.

Frisk wished he had the answer to that. For a moment, the way back to Mt. Ebott seemed as easy as speaking a couple of words. But now, things have taken a turn for the worse.

Because those people weren't any regular group of survivors. They weren't simply trying to get to the next day alive and well. No – unlike other groups, they had a clear objective in mind.

They were after Undyne.


	13. Polaroids and Keys

It wasn't a quiet night – neither to Frisk, nor to MK. The human knew he wasn't the only one awake in the room because nobody coughs and sighs so often when they are asleep.

As for him, he couldn't get to sleep because of the billions of thoughts that crossed his head. He had joined the human group in the hopes of getting back to Mt. Ebott faster – but considering who those people were, it was unlikely that would happen. Not when they were chasing Undyne, who they thought was located on the other side of the region.

Sometimes, Frisk had the impression he had fallen asleep for a brief time before jolting up awake again. He was tired, but his mind was busy with anticipation for the next morning. Leonard wanted to know his story. Did the fact they were after Undyne change what Frisk could and couldn't tell? The human wished he could think rationally on the matter, but his tiredness allied with the uneasiness of the situation made his logic go in circles. One time, he attempted talking to MK, but as he only got drowsy groans in response, he gave up on the idea.

When the first rays of sun began pouring through the small windows of the room, Frisk knew he wouldn't be looking too good for that day. He had slept maybe two hours at best.

He couldn't tell how much time passed then, but eventually Chris appeared by their door, calling them for "breakfast". Apparently the night shift had ended with him – evidenced by the bags under his eyes, but he still managed to look cheerful, and Frisk felt a tiny bit of envy for that. The human looked at MK, who didn't seem very rested either. The two looked at each other in a sort of silent agreement.

"You two don't look so hot today, eh?", commented Chris as they walked through a corridor, glancing back at them. "How did this happen? I mean, I don't wanna make you feel bad or anything, but you were the only ones who could sleep throughout all night!"

Frisk glanced quickly at MK, feeling a bit dizzy. They had their eyes squinted in a futile attempt to protect it from the morning sun that entered through the barred windows.

"Um... we're okay. Who looks good in the morning, anyway?", replied the yellow monster, giving a nervous laugh. Frisk suppressed a yawn.

"Huh, y'know what, that's actually a good point.", agreed Chris, sounding sincerely convinced.

Eventually, they reached their destination. Chris opened a door that led to a small meeting room – and everybody was already there. They were all sat by a round table, eating cookies and cereal bars – which was already becoming a rare commodity in that war. All of them complimented Frisk and MK when they entered with either a wave or a motion with the head, except Eileen, who simply gave them a cold stare.

"Catch!", said Heather, tossing a pack of cookies to Frisk. He mumbled some thanks in return, and his voice sounded hoarse.

They ate in silence, and the human shared the food with the yellow monster. Frisk wasn't hungry – in fact, the tiny pieces of the cookies felt like they were swirling menacingly inside his upset stomach – but he forced himself to eat as much as he could so that his anxiety wouldn't betray him. MK at least seemed a lot more eager towards the food.

"Aren't you gonna sit?", asked Leonard, genuinely curious.

"No thanks. We're cool.", the human quickly replied.

The truth was Frisk felt that if he sat on any kind of surface he'd sleep, and he wasn't willing to pass such an impression for the rest of the group.

"Well, your call.", said Leonard, shrugging before sitting more upright in the chair. Frisk understood enough about body language to know that meant they were about to deal with the real business. "Anyway, yesterday I promised you could ask all your questions. So, here I am. I'm willing to answer them, as long as I have an answer, of course."

They gave a kind smile, and Frisk finally swallowed the pulp inside his mouth – and it sure took its time passing through his throat. After that sickening feeling, he realized he had to ask something quickly. He needed some sort of confirmation about what he had thought about those people, but where could he start that subject without raising suspicions?

"How long have you been here?", he finally asked, deciding to play safe.

"About a week, give or take. We try to measure time here, but that's not exactly easy.", replied Leonard. "We don't intend on staying here for long, though."

That wasn't good.

"Why?"

Leonard shifted a bit on the chair, glancing uncomfortable looks at everybody in the room. The people looked at each other, thinking about the same thing: " _should they know_ "? Meanwhile, Eileen kept staring at Frisk with that eternal suspicion. It made the human feel nervous – it was almost like she was analyzing him, aware of every twitch or stutter on his voice. He felt he'd need to be _really_ careful when handling that subject.

"We... have a plan.", began Leonard. "We're after the monsters' empress. Their queen."

Frisk tried to make a surprised face at that statement, but he wasn't sure if it looked convincing. However, the dread that had been lingering in the air installed with full force within his heart with that confirmation. He wasn't surprised by any means, but he would be lying if he said he didn't have any hope those people were just a regular group of survivors.

"Why would you do such a thing?", asked Frisk, feeling a bit stupid since he already knew the answer.

Leonard looked gloomily at him.

"To kill her."

Those were simply three words, but their effect on the room was immediately felt. People looked more somber – even Chris, who always smiled, looked down. However, the look in their eyes showed Frisk they weren't thinking on giving up on that plan. He knew that look – the look of determination – too well to simply mistake it.

"We believe...", they continued. "We believe all this might end if she's dead."

"How does that make you feel?"

Everyone looked at Eileen, who had asked the question. Her focus was on MK – and although the look in her eyes was still fierce and suspicious, Frisk could feel a hint of genuine curiosity in her words. The yellow monster slowly opened his mouth, taken aback by the sudden question.

"Weird.", he finally said. "I mean... I'm not gonna lie, she was kinda my hero back in the Underground. It's... ugh, I don't know..."

Eileen jolted up from her chair, slamming her hands on the desk, and MK jumped on the spot.

" _Underground_?", she repeated, looking straight into his eyes. "' _The humans sealed the monsters underground with a magical spell_ '. You can't possibly be saying... it's true?"

"It _is_ true."

It was Frisk's turn to be looked at. He took a deep breath. Those people were after Undyne, but he knew he still had a chance of convincing them to go where he wanted to.

"The Underground is a real place.", the human explained. "It's right beneath us, but very few people know about it. The entrance is at Mt. Ebott."

"Mt. Ebott? You mean _the_ Mt. Ebott?", asked Leonard, crossing his arms. "Near our hometown?"

Frisk nodded, and before he knew it he was walking at a slow pace around the table, deep in thought. He needed to be careful when handling that matter, but there was no stopping it.

"' _Those who climb the mountain..._ '", he quoted. "' _Never return_.' There was a reason this rumor started in the first place. There was a reason Mt. Ebott was given such a mystifying and legendary title. The entrance to the Underground – a whole new world full of fantastic beings – was right there, after all."

He looked at the people. As expected, most of them had expressions of shock and surprise – typical of those who had never heard of such stories. Leonard and Eileen, on the other hand, had clarified looks, like Frisk had just added new information over something they already knew.

"And how do you know all that?", inquired Leonard, eager to know more.

That was it. That was the big question Frisk knew that, sooner or later, would be asked. And there was only one possible answer.

"I fell down there."

The human wasn't facing any of them when he said that, but could feel their stares – curious, intrigued. Judging.

"You... fell?" asked Eileen, as if she hadn't heard it right.

He looked at her and nodded.

"When I was ten, I climbed Mt. Ebott, because...", he began, passing his hand on his hair. "Well, I don't remember why. Anyway, there was a cave there, with that big, weird hole. I tripped. I fell. I was in the Underground."

Frisk began walking again as memories from his first time in the Underground flooded back into his head. Toriel saving him in the Ruins. Walking around in Snowdin. Running away from Undyne.

And then, everything was lost because of his decisions. He remembered... he had worked so hard to save everyone, to give everyone the happy ending they deserved, to just throw it all away in the end. The only thing he couldn't remember was _why_ he reset after he broke the barrier and brought the monsters to the surface.

And to be honest, he was terrified of what the answer could be.

"But...", he continued. "Most monsters were actually really nice to me. Even when they attacked me, it was more because of curiosity than actual intent to harm. Of course, there were monsters who actively tried to hurt me, but those were few. In the end, I managed to escape and came back to the surface."

Each person had a different look after Frisk told them that. Pensive, shocked... two of them seemed skeptical about all that – and to be honest, the human couldn't blame them.

"Wow... just... whoa...", said Heather, looking somewhat disturbed.

"That's... quite a story, kid.", commented Chris, giving a nervous laugh.

"I'm telling the truth.", stated Frisk, and he was glad to notice that the sincerity in his words were hearable. "It's hard to believe, I know, but... I'm not the only one to have fallen down there. I just happened to be the first to actually come back to tell the story."

He couldn't help but shiver with his words – unpleasant, dreadful memories filling his head once again. The seven coffins he found near the throne room – the first one empty, as if specially made for him, and at the same time belonging to someone else entirely. Had he died in the Underground, would that war have began six years earlier? Would Asgore actually have carried on with their plan?

A long silence filled the room as everyone thought about how serious the human's statement was, until Leonard decided to break it.

"I still don't understand what happened... what happened for them to leave the Underground and start this war?"

Frisk opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. He couldn't tell everything – that he had killed Toriel and that Asgore's death was also indirectly his fault, giving a reason for a massive wave of misanthropy to wash over the Underground. He looked at MK, who probably thought the same thing, seeking help.

"Uh... our king...", intervened the yellow monster. "He passed away shortly after Frisk got back to the surface. As the queen had already been dead for... sometime, the head of the Royal Guard, Undyne, took the throne. She's the one who waged this war, as a revenge for the first war that got monsters trapped in the Underground."

"I see... but why now? Why not earlier?", commented Leonard, looking to the ground with a pensive expression.

"Because of the barrier. The one the humans created with the 'magical spell' during the first war.", explained MK. "Our Royal Scientist found a way to break it down, and that was how we escaped the Underground."

Frisk nodded, relieved. That story had been convincing enough. They weren't technically lying – just twisting little details from the truth to benefit them. Maybe it wasn't the most righteous thing in the world, but it was a necessity in the current situation.

And that was it. All that needed to be explained had been explained – the moment had come for the strike.

"We need to go back to Mt. Ebott."

As expected, everyone looked at him in confusion.

"And why would we do that?", asked Eileen.

"The Underground.", the human simply replied. "There's something there that can help us stop this war."

All of them had intrigued expressions. Chris and Leonard looked at each other, the former giving a shrug.

"That's cool."

"Wait wait wait, you're being pretty vague there.", noticed Eileen. "What's ' _something_ '? It's like a... weapon of sorts? Something we can use to take down the empress?"

Frisk felt his mouth dry. What could he say? He was sure he couldn't tell them about the resets and timelines – they would just laugh it off and the opportunity to go to Mt. Ebott would be wasted. However, he needed to say something convincing. And quick.

"Yeah...", he slowly said as his mind frantically tried to make an answer up. "It's a weapon that can take out Undyne. I honestly don't know what it is, but I... I know it's there."

Frisk began regretting what he said as soon as he finished it. He cursed himself in his mind. A weapon? That was a good one. Just when MK managed to explain everything in the best way they could, he came up with that miserable lie. The people around the table looked at each other, talking – and the sounds of parallel discussions filled the room.

"What could this weapon be?"

"I don't know, but I bet it's not worth the journey!"

"Kid doesn't seem to be lying..."

"Well, yeah, but we can't afford the risk."

"Is it like a gun or something?"

"Oh! Maybe it's a sword!"

"Chris, for the love of god, _shut up_!"

"Everyone, silence!", commanded Leonard, his voice louder than usual. The chatter began to die until the room became silent once more. He then looked at Frisk. "Kid, are you _sure_ you don't know anything else about this weapon? At all?"

The human swallowed, trying to think an answer – however, the only things that came to his mind were ridiculous, over-the-top ideas of weapons. It didn't help his mind was working in a sluggish state due to the lack of sleep. Why didn't he think forward?

He shook his head, and Leonard looked disappointed.

"Well, I say we should go for it.", said Chris, and he actually looked serious, for once. "Anything that might help us take the empress out is worth a shot, I guess."

"But what is the point if we don't have any idea of what it is, or even how strong it is?", pointed out Eileen.

"I'm with Eileen.", said Heather, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Mt. Ebott is pretty far from here. The only way this travel will be worth it is if this weapon gives us a significant advantage, and as it is now, we don't know if that will happen."

"It will be risky...", said a woman Frisk never heard speak before. "But hey, everything we've done so far was based on risk, right? I don't see how is this any different. I vote we go."

"I think this is dumb.", said Barry, the man who had accidentally fired the weapon in the forest the previous day. "Heather already said it: Ebott is far from here. We'll be lucky if we manage to get there and back with half of the group alive. I say we keep our original plan."

Every time someone spoke, Frisk looked at them, as if in some sort of bizarre ping-pong game. His guts were twisting with anticipation. It was possible they'd go to Mt. Ebott, and it was also possible they wouldn't. He knew he had to intervene if he wanted to balance the odds in his favor, but how?

"I don't mean to intrude or anything.", stated Frisk as someone made a point against going to Ebott. "But I saw you have two minivans out there. Wouldn't that help with the distance?"

"We don't have much fuel.", explained Heather. "Enough to cover a good portion of the way, but we'd still have to walk. Besides, we can't forget we have to come _back_ as well."

Frisk clenched his fists. He wanted to tell they _wouldn't_ have to come back, but how would he explain that? Instead, he simply looked down, resigned. MK looked as if about to say something, but simply sighed.

"What do you think, dad?"

Everyone looked at Leonard, who crossed his arms once more. Of course, he was the leader – the most important opinion on the group, the one who could decide what the next step would be. He glanced a careful look towards Frisk, as if analyzing the human, who in turn held his breath. For some dreadful seconds, the room was completely silent, until the man finally spoke his mind.

"Sorry, Frisk. If you can't tell me anything more concrete about this so-called 'weapon', I don't think the trip will be worth the risk."

Frisk felt as if a golf ball was stuck in his throat. He wanted to shout, to curse, to yell they didn't understand what was really going on, but he simply nodded, defeated. It was frustrating – they were so close...

"However...", continued Leonard.

The human looked up, hopeful. Leonard glanced a look at everyone across the room.

"We're a group. We decide things together.", he continued. "So we'll vote. The majority will decide what will be the next step. Frisk and MK, I'm sorry, but considering you've been with us just for a day, you won't get a vote in this one. Is that okay?"

Both Frisk and the yellow monster nodded. There _was_ a chance for them, after all. Maybe, just maybe...

"Okay. Who votes for going to Ebott to fetch this 'weapon' Frisk has revealed to us?"

Some people – including Chris – raised their arms. Frisk rapidly counted four of them.

"All right. And who votes for keeping the original plan and going after the empress?"

Other people raised their arms. With his heart beating fast, Frisk counted how many they were.

 _Four_.

Four people – a tie. But didn't the group had nine people? Who didn't..?

"Eileen?", called Leonard, looking at his daughter. "You... didn't vote, did you?"

To Frisk's surprise, Eileen had a conflicted expression, as if she didn't know what to do. That was weird – she had made a point against going back to Mt. Ebott, after all. Did she change her mind? If so, why?

She looked straight into Frisk's eyes, and once again he couldn't help but feel she was staring right into his soul – the deepest part of his being. It was a piercing look that made Frisk wonder if that girl could somehow read the thoughts that were going through his head.

She then looked at her father, her expression serene, but not any less confused.

"I... uh...", she began. "I vote... I guess it's better... It's better to keep our original plan. Yeah, we should go after the empress."

Leonard nodded, agreeing.

"Then it's settled.", he said, looking at Frisk. "Sorry, Frisk. But thank you for sharing this information with us, anyway."

The human tried to smile, but on the inside he wanted to kick something out of frustration. They got _really_ close there, he felt it, but his chance just walked away, and it would never come back. He had joined the group in the hopes of making his way back to Mt. Ebott easier, not to go after Undyne – the last monster he wanted to see. He tried not to feel demotivated, but that was a hard thing to do considering everything he did seemed to lead them back to square one.

As the group dispersed to do their daily routines, mumbling their "good mornings" as they passed by, the room got empty, leaving only Frisk and MK alone with the taste of defeat that lingered in the air.

* * *

"What do we do now?"

Frisk looked up. He and MK went back to the bedroom after the morning reunion, and they had not exchanged a word since. The human was sat on the bed and had been lost in thought until the yellow monster decided to break the silence.

He stood up and slowly walked towards the door, leaning on the doorway, his back facing MK. In that morning, they had lost an opportunity to reach their objective easily, but Frisk knew for sure that wasn't going to stop him.

"We still need to go back to Mt. Ebott.", he said.

"So we're leaving?"

The human felt something twitching inside his heart – an uncomfortable sensation that grew and grew, fueling him with fear as much as with determination. An idea took form in his mind.

He didn't like it.

"Yes. With one of the vans."

He knew there would be an awkward silence after he said that, but somehow it was even more awkward than he expected.

"Oh god, no.", mumbled MK. "No, no, no! This is too much, dude!"

"MK, listen.", said Frisk, turning around to face the yellow monster. "It's not an option, it's literally the only thing we can do."

The reptilian monster shook his head in disbelief.

"They took us _in_!", he said. "They let us _stay_! Are you really going to sabotage them just like that!?"

"I don't like this either!", the human replied, exasperated. "But god knows what will happen if they reach and kill Undyne before we have a chance of reaching Mt. Ebott. If the magical shield Undyne cast on the region disappears with her death, all the electronics would start working again, and exterior help would finally appear, which means the monsters would lose the war."

"So what?", replied MK, harshly. "How does that affects us?"

Frisk pressed his temples. He really liked MK and appreciated their company – they always stood up by his side through thick and thin – but they had been really getting on his nerves lately. It was like they weren't even making the slightest effort to _think_.

"For better or worse, we just told these people where the Underground is.", explained Frisk. "If this war ends with humanity victorious, they'll try to investigate it. And probably seal it for good – maybe with the remaining monsters inside, if they decide not to just kill them, that is. And if that happens, there it goes our chance to reset. It will all have been for nothing."

MK looked Frisk straight into his eyes, their expression reluctant. However, Frisk knew they understood how grave the situation was – and that harsh measures would have to be taken soon.

"Damn!", they said, avoiding the look. "Why is it never easy?"

Frisk could understand that feeling pretty well himself. Ever since the beginning of the war, there had been no easy decisions – only sacrifices and desperate measures. And it wasn't only physical and material things they sacrificed, but also some of the morals that ruled life in society. Stealing. Hurting others. All for the sake of survival.

"Do you have a plan?", asked MK, his voice monotonous.

The human gave a long, deep sigh while collecting his thoughts.

"We need to find the keys for the minivans.", he replied. "They must be here somewhere, we'll just have to search for it. Meanwhile, we'll have to act normal to avoid arousing any suspicion in the others."

"That's cool and all, but you're forgetting a little detail here.", stated MK. "Do you even _know_ how to drive?"

If the situation wasn't so serious, Frisk would have smiled. He had driven a car once, in the beginning of the war. Granted, he received help back then, but it couldn't be much more difficult, could it?

Before any of them could say anything else, they heard a door opening in the distance and footsteps getting closer. Frisk looked at the entrance of the bedroom. Someone was coming to see them.

"Heya guys!", said Chris, entering the bedroom. "What you doing?"

"Just chattin'.", replied MK, shrugging. "What's up?"

The human knew Chris hadn't passed by just to say hello – no, he wanted to do _something_ with them. He had changed his clothes to a green t-shirt and cargo pants, and was wearing half finger tactical gloves. At the very least, it wasn't a common outfit to use in the middle of autumn.

He smacked his fist, smiling, producing a sound that echoed in the room.

"Leonard wanted me to teach you some basic self defense, Frisk.", he said. "You can come along too, MK. What you think?"

Frisk looked at MK, who just gave a surprised glance back at the human. He had never really given a thought about learning self defense or any other type of hand-to-hand combat before. Truth was, even though he had learned to shoot with the pistol, perhaps some self defense _could_ come in handy in the future. And even in the case he wasn't interested in that, he needed to "act normal", right?

"Sure, I'm in.", said Frisk, smiling back at the man. "Let's go, MK."

"Cool!", replied Chris, excited. "I like training on the exercise yard. Off we go!"

In normal circumstances, that would be a weird statement, but things were anything but normal, and Frisk's mind was too busy with other things to care. Chris began leading them across the facility, humming a happy little tune on the way. He walked a bit too fast, though, and MK and the human had a little difficulty keeping up.

Although Frisk liked Chris, once again he couldn't help but feel a bit sad. The man reminded him too much of Papyrus and...

"Glad you're tagging along, MK!", commented Chris, glancing back. "I'm really sorry I can't teach you self defense, though. You uh... kinda need to have... um... how can I say it..?"

"I get it, man. Arms.", completed MK, sounding not bothered, but slightly amused. "I figured."

"Uh... yes.", agreed Chris, sounding embarrassed. "But hey, at least you can do this magic stuff, right?"

"Yeah, I can."

"Can you, like, shoot lasers from your eyes?"

The image of MK shooting red lasers from their eyes popped immediately in Frisk's head, and he snorted. The yellow monster looked down, as if the fact they couldn't do such a thing was their biggest disappointment in life.

"N-no..."

"Oh."

When Frisk noticed, they were back in the entrance hallway, and his attention was picked by the room near the entrance door – the one with the window, where prisoners would get their belongings checked. Maybe it was only his wishful thinking playing tricks in his mind, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a key holder in there...

Chris lead them through the double iron door, which revealed itself to be the entrance to the inmates cells. It was a fairly big place with three floors linked by a simple set of stairs – though the cells themselves were very tiny. Being a prisoner musn't have been comfortable in there. The human once again wondered what happened to them.

After opening a set of gates, they were finally in the exercise yard. Compared to the cells division, the yard wasn't very big. Actually, maybe calling that place an "exercise" yard was an overstatement. It was only a small field of dirty soil with spots of overgrown grass here and there – a rather depressing sight.

Chris, however, seemed to pay no mind for that.

"Okay, here we are! Are you ready?"

Frisk answered just looking around. MK poked him with his foot so the human would pay attention.

"So, you might think self defense is kinda useless against monsters, because they can do magic.", began Chris. "And for the most part, that's right."

What a lovely way to start teaching something.

"But, some monsters can only do hand-to-hand combat, for some reason.", he continued, looking at MK with some sort of expectation. The yellow monster understood.

"All monsters can do magic.", explained MK. "And most can use it in offensive form, like you said, but not everyone is like that. The magic from some monsters acts in other ways, so those need to use other means to fight."

Chris made a comic, exaggerated reverence towards the reptilian monster.

"Thank you for your wonderful assistance, MK.", he said, standing upright again. "Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah – so, if you find yourself in a situation where physical combat unavoidable, self defense can really be useful, especially if you need to conserve ammo for your gun. Now, you should know that self defense will hardly ever kill anyone, but it might incapacitate your enemy long enough so you can escape."

Frisk actually liked that idea. He nodded.

"The coolest thing about most self defense moves is that you don't even use your strength – you use your enemy's own strength against themselves. It's all about technique. C'mon, give a step forward."

The human obeyed, a little insecure. He had heard about that basic principle of self defense before – but he had always considered himself so frail. He couldn't care less about exercise, which explained his physical type. Could he really do it anyway?

"Now punch me."

Frisk looked at Chris, who was beaming with excitement, which only made him look weirder after having said that.

"Uh... what?"

"Punch me!", he repeated, his smile not faltering. "Y'know, with a clenched fist! And don't hold back, please!"

Chris was up to something for sure, but what could Frisk do? With a faint feeling of anxiety, the human clenched his fist and, with a quick movement, he pulled his arm back and forth, attempting to punch the man.

It happened so quickly Frisk barely had any time to react. With one arm, Chris repelled the human's arm that was going to punch him, and with the other, he threw a punch himself – stopping only by millimeters from Frisk's chin. Would Chris be really trying to defend himself, the human would have received a nasty punch.

"This is a simple move anyone can learn.", said Chris, letting both his arms fall to his sides, relaxing. "See, most people try to stop a punch by blocking it from the front – but what's really effective is to push the arm to the side. As a plus, doing so leaves an open space for you to throw a nice punch yourself!"

"You make it seem easy.", commented Frisk, rubbing his arm.

"Nah, it _is_ easy, you'll see! C'mon, give it a go!"

And so they practiced. Fortunately, Chris made slower movements so Frisk could get the hang of it – but surprisingly enough, it didn't take long until the human managed to pull the move in real time speed.

"Oh, they grow up _so_ fast! You make me proud!", said Chris dramatically, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "Now let's talk real business: the weak spots you should aim for when trying to incapacitate your enemy. First, the back of the knee..."

Chris showed Frisk all those "weak spots" and how to effectively hit them. Frisk didn't find any of that to be particularly challenging – but then, he was practicing in a safe, controlled environment. In a real kill-or-be-killed situation, things were surely going to be more difficult.

"Good, good!", complimented Chris, standing up after Frisk had kicked the back of his knee. "Okay, now I'd like to show you some moves that require dodging.", he looked the human from top to bottom. "Judging from your body type, I can say you won't really have a hard time with this."

Frisk couldn't help but smile. Yes – Chris had no idea of what the human had been through. That would be a piece of cake.

Ironically, that wasn't the case. Although Frisk could almost always dodge Chris' attack, he had trouble counterattacking and completing the move. More than once the human fell with his face flat on the ground, earning groans from MK and motivational quotes from Chris (" _you can't give up just yet!_ ").

Time flew by, and although Frisk couldn't tell for sure how much of it had passed, it was enough for a thin layer of sweat to cover both their faces – which was something, considering the chillier weather from that time of year.

"I think that's enough for now.", said Chris, visibly tired, but smiling nonetheless. "You're doing great!"

"Thanks.", the human replied, his hands resting on his knees, looking up. "And thank you for taking your time for teaching me this."

"Anytime! If you wish to practice, just talk to me. I'm always up for it!"

A sudden, sharp pain bolted through Frisk's skull, making the human flinch for a moment before it went away. Something in Chris' behavior... it activated a distant memory. He was reminding the human of someone, but who?

With a shiver, Frisk noticed that _deja-vu_ sensation didn't come from a memory from his past, but from _another place in time entirely_. He had never sparred or trained with anyone before – his brain was probably attempting to remind him of someone from another timeline who did just that.

And yet, Frisk had the weird sensation he knew who the person – or monster – was, after all. That energetic, cheerful and undeniable determined behavior...

"You okay?"

The human snapped out of it. He must have been making a weird face, because Chris was staring him with a concerned expression.

"Y-yeah.", he replied, clearing his throat. "Just a little tired."

It was clear Chris noticed something happened, but he decided not to push the subject any further.

"Let's go inside, then.", said Chris. "We need to see what the others are up to, anyway."

Frisk looked at MK, who was behind him. The expression on the yellow monster's face made it clear they had an idea of what had passed through the human's mind – but that was no place to talk about that. Instead, they just nodded and began following Chris, while Frisk walked by their side.

They made their way through the facility – Frisk's mind busy with the memory that slowly began to show its claws. He could feel it, there was something important about the identity of the one he was being reminded of. However, there was a part of him – a tiny part of him – that was afraid of what there was about to be remembered. And that motivated him to stop trying to remember – at least for the moment.

The memory's claws retreated.

He didn't even notice they were once again in the entrance corridor. Chris stopped right in his tracks, unsure of what to do.

"So uh... I think I'm gonna see with Leonard if there's anything you two can help with.", they said, turning around to face Frisk and MK. "You just... stay there. Don't attempt a prison break!"

They laughed at their own joke, and Frisk rolled his eyes, but waved a goodbye as Chris disappeared after a door. The second it closed, the human walked towards the window that allowed them to see into a room near the entrance.

There it was – the key holder. His heart skipped a beat. It held a lot of keys – and one of them possibly would give them access to the minivans outside. MK walked towards the human, stopping next to him and looking at the key holder as well, the puzzle pieces falling together.

"Do you think the keys are there?", they asked.

"Only one way to find out...", said Frisk, walking towards the door that gave access to the room.

As the human lifted his hand to touch the doorknob, there was a moment of hesitation in which a strange silence filled the room and he could feel his heartbeats strong inside his chest. Was he doing the right thing? Was stealing the vehicle _really_ necessary?

He shook his head. He knew there wasn't another way – the clock was ticking and he needed to act fast. Letting all his doubts aside, he touched the knob and turned it.

Locked.

"Dammit!", mumbled Frisk, stepping back and looking at the door. So close, yet so far. "Of course... they wouldn't just leave it open..."

He looked down, sighing. MK approached.

"Dude, uh... the key must be somewhere, right?", they said. "We'll find it."

They attempted to sound confident, but the doubt was plainly hearable in their voice. Frisk gave a dry laugh.

"True, but this place is huge. Where do you think they'd keep the key for this room?"

"C'mon, Frisk, that's not even a hard one."

The human thought for a while. Truth was that he was still shaken up by that sprout of memory that began to appear in his mind – it was a feeling he wasn't used to, like he was about to remember something dark and forbidden. Nonetheless, MK was right: although the prison was big, the group camping there was a lot smaller.

"Someone must be keeping the key, right?", deduced Frisk, and MK smiled. "Either with themselves or in their room. God, it will be difficult to search for it without seeming suspicious."

MK agreed with a nod, somberly. Frisk looked once again to the door – in a sense, the last obstacle between him and Mt. Ebott. That thought fueled him with determination – he had gone through all sorts of dangers and shortcomings before, he could do that.

"Do you think it's with Leonard?", the human asked.

MK frowned.

"Possibly. He's the leader and all.", he said. Then, he made a weird expression, as if a strange thought had crossed his mind. "But... maybe it's with..."

He looked at Frisk, who understood _exactly_ what the yellow monster meant. Sure, Leonard was the obvious choice to be with the key – but Frisk knew that group was _anything_ but obvious. They were chasing Undyne, after all. And most importantly, they left their camp security with someone else the day before.

And something inside Frisk told him if anyone would be trusted with the key's security, it would be that person, no doubt about it.

"Eileen."

* * *

Unfortunately, there weren't many opportunities when Frisk and MK would be left alone for enough time for them to search for the key that day. They were almost always accompanied by someone else – helping Heather to reload magazines, or fixing some wiring with Barry to restore energy to all parts of the prison. The human noticed they always said that Leonard had told them to search for the human and the yellow monster, which made Frisk wonder if that was their ultimate excuse or if Leonard was trying to be sure they wouldn't be wandering around the prison by themselves.

During the brief periods they would be left alone, Frisk and MK made a little plan – their best bet of getting the key would be at night, during the watch shifts. Eileen's shift would be the perfect opportunity for them to sneak in her room unnoticed.

Meanwhile, the others didn't seem to notice they were up to something – although Eileen still gave them that cold, suspicious glare of hers. Frisk knew she would do that even if they weren't planning anything, but he couldn't help but to feel a nervous sensation inside his stomach every time he crossed paths with her.

When the night fell and the time came for the watch to start, Frisk and MK both excused themselves to their room – the yellow monster even pretended a rather convincing yawn as they did so. They tucked themselves inside their beds, hearing the movements of the rest of the group deciding who would start the shift. After some time, everything went silent, and the human knew it was time to put the plan in motion.

Grabbing a flashlight, Frisk and MK carefully snuck out of the room, their eyes and ears attentive to the slightest of movements or sounds. However, no one but them was wandering through the prison's corridors that time of night – the guard shift was done outside, after all.

They walked, searching for more dormitories like the one they had slept in the night before. They silently checked the rooms – taking care not to wake anybody up – until they actually found an empty room that looked like it could be Eileen's room.

Not that there were any conclusive signs that was her room – but Frisk and MK had been checking the rooms for a whole hour and hadn't found Eileen in any of them. Turning on the flashlight, the human searched the small bedroom. The only thing that made that room different from the others was the backpack tossed by the bed. He crouched down next to it and opened it.

"You think that's Eileen's?", whispered MK, glancing nervously at the corridor.

Frisk took a good look at the backpack. It was gray with pink details – but there wasn't a name or any mark that could identify it as hers. Still, he knew he couldn't be held back by it – even if it wasn't Eileen's, there wasn't anything else in the room to be searched.

Giving a little, shaky sigh, he began to search the contents of the bag. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous – he didn't like the idea of prying into other people's stuff. It didn't help the only other day he had actually fiddled with someone else's backpack was actually one of the worst days of his life. As the human got the supplies and ammunition out of the way, he couldn't help but be reminded of sad, unpleasant memories of events that had happened a little more than a month before.

And then, he found a picture.

Holding it against the faint flashlight's beam, he took a look. It was an old polaroid of a woman with dark skin and curly hair, with a kind, warm smile. Even though Eileen resembled her father's expression a lot more, Frisk knew for sure that was her mother.

A wave of embarrassment passed through the human. He felt he was seeing something he shouldn't – a space too personal for him to just pry in uninvited. In a sense, he related – he knew for sure he wouldn't like any intruders to see the photo _he_ kept in his backpack – the photo that held sweet and painful memories at the same time. He wasn't trying to learn more about Eileen, but to simply get the key he needed.

"Found something?", asked MK, anxiety all over his voice.

"Nothing.", replied Frisk, slipping the photograph back into the backpack and continuing his search.

And then, he felt it – the cold metal against his palm, the perfect format of a key. With a quick move, he pulled it out from the bottom of the backpack and looked at it. It was a simple key, slightly rusted in some parts, but mostly intact.

The human slowly got back up again, searching the key for any signs that could indicate it was actually the key he had been looking for. MK approached him from behind, trying to get a glimpse as well.

"Is this it?", they asked. "The key?"

They seemed to have a hard time believing it. Frisk himself couldn't believe it had been so easy – but luck had to change to his side eventually, right? However, he didn't want to get his hopes up – not without a good reason, anyway.

"I think so.", he replied, shoving the key in his pocket. "Let's find out now."

As soon as they got out of the room, however, they heard steps growing closer. Someone was coming.

With quick thought, Frisk opened the door next to him – which turned out to be another room, and shoved MK inside, entering and shutting themselves in just as he could hear the steps passing by the corridor. For a brief, terrifying moment, it seemed to stop exactly in front of the room they were hiding, but proceeded shortly after. Once it grew distant, Frisk let his breath out.

"I think that was Eileen...", the human whispered, looking at MK, even though it was so dark he couldn't make out their face.

"Her steps are so soft...", replied the yellow monster with a melt in his voice Frisk knew for sure wasn't because of fear or anxiety. "I-I mean, yeah... I guess so."

Normally, the human would have poked fun at the monster, but his mind was focused in their objective. That was no time to be joking around – so instead he simply opened the door and silently walked across the corridor.

They made their way back to the entrance corridor, fearful they would cross paths with someone, but fortunately that didn't happen. Once they reached the entrance, Frisk went directly to the door that led to the room with the keys they were after. He took out the key from his pocket, and with his hands shaking slightly, fit it into the lock and turned. The air was filled with expectation.

 _Click_.

The human didn't even need to turn the doorknob as the door opened by itself – as if inviting them in to take their prize. With a wide, silly smile plastered on his face, Frisk stepped inside. He looked at MK, who was also smiling. He wanted to laugh and jump out of joy, but held himself – his "mission" wasn't over yet.

He picked up the keys on the key holder. There were a lot of them – five or six, when the human knew they would only need one for a van. But as he didn't know which one it was ( _if_ one of them was, he needed to remind), it would be better to take them all to test it.

"What's the next step?", asked MK, and for the first time, Frisk knew exactly what to answer.

"We wait until the night shift stops. Once the last one gets through here, we go outside, get one of the vans and get out of here. We did it, MK! Ebott is ours!"

His voice was vibrating with excitement. They had actually done it. The next step was only a matter of waiting – and waiting would be easy, considering all they had done.

MK, however, made a weird expression.

"What about your backpack?"

All the excitement immediately deflated out of Frisk like a popping party balloon. He wanted to facepalm himself. Of course, he couldn't forget his things – and he had left them in the room MK and him had slept the night before. Why didn't he bring it along? He needed to fetch it.

"You're right.", said Frisk. "But it's no problem, I'll go get it. You stay here. I'm coming back and we're spending the night in this room. If we close the door and keep our heads low, they won't even notice it's unlocked and that we're here."

"All right, but don't take too long.", said MK, slightly worried.

Frisk nodded before getting out of the room and going upstairs, proceeding back to his room. He went in a sort of silent jog – an appropriate way for him to display his excitement with the situation without calling unwanted attention.

Everything was going perfectly well – so it was more than okay to be carefully optimistic. He felt in his heart the reset was closer than ever. He could do it, he knew he could.

As soon as he opened the door of his room, however, it seemed as if luck had once again decided to change sides.

He felt the cold metal from a handgun barrel pressed against his forehead. In front of him, there was a silhouette of a person. Although the only light in the room was the faint one from the outside, Frisk knew immediately who they were, which only made him more confused.

" _Don't_. _Move_.", said Eileen in a menacing way, making Frisk actually fear she would shoot. "Or I'll blow your brain out of your skull. I knew you couldn't be trusted."


	14. Silent Promise

"No, please, you don't understand! I'll explain everything, just please let us out of here!"

The situation was humiliating, to say the least. Frisk never thought he would have to beg to anyone with such desperation before – but all standards he had were thrown away when they locked him and MK up in one of the dirty cells of the prison. The human grabbed the bars, pleading to be listened, but no one was willing to do so.

Leonard had an extremely displeased look – it was clear he never thought Frisk would attempt to do something as running away with one of their vehicles, which was made clear when they found the keys in his pocket. Eileen, in turn, became furious when she discovered he had the key that she kept in her belongings. Heather just shook her head, sad, before walking away. The others went with her, not seeming to mind, with the exception of Chris, who looked shocked at Frisk and MK.

"I can't... I... _why_?", he said, having trouble collecting his thoughts.

Frisk looked down ashamed, feeling something he couldn't actually describe. Maybe he wasn't too fond of Eileen and couldn't care less about what she thought of him, but... Leonard had invited him to join the group, at least for a while. They had trusted him, to some degree. Chris took his time to teach the human self defense. Frisk knew what he did – he knew that stealing one of the vans was a despicable act – but up until that point he had managed to justify it to himself. It was all for the reset. To make things better for everyone.

But thinking he let Chris and Leonard down hurt him in a way he didn't think it was possible.

The human watched as Chris slowly turned around and walked away, too.

The only person who was there was Eileen. Her face showed a lot of emotions: angst, disgust, despise... Frisk knew she would have the strongest reaction. In a way, he was glad the others showed up soon after she had him cornered in the room. If they hadn't, the human wasn't sure he would even be alive.

He didn't like the idea, but she was the only one there. She was his only chance – as slim as it was.

"Eileen, please.", Frisk pleaded. "Please hear me out. I know this looks bad, but I swear... I swear I can explain it..."

He was glad to notice his voice didn't have that desperate tone from before. Eileen looked at him for sometime, as if deciding which bad name was more fitting to him. She seemed to be having a hard time with that.

"We have nothing to talk about.", she simply said.

And then, she left. MK and Frisk were alone in that dark, tiny cell, with no one to hear them. No one to save them.

"We messed up.", said the yellow monster, who was sat by the corner of the cell, clearly having given up.

And Frisk could do nothing but sit by his side, defeated.

"I knew this wasn't a good plan, man.", continued MK, rubbing salt on the wound. "I should have talked you out of it."

"You know I wouldn't listen and just carry on with it anyway, right?"

Frisk didn't mean to sound annoyed – he didn't want to fight or argue with the reptilian monster as things were bad enough as they were – but he couldn't help it. Fortunately, they ignored it.

"Yeah, you're right.", they said, slowly. "Screw your determination. It always leaves us between a rock and a hard place."

The human let out a long sigh. He was tired of always taking the blame. He was tired of feeling guilty all the time, of feeling like garbage. Nonetheless, up until that point he had always managed to soldier through all that to seek his objectives, but perhaps that wouldn't be the case anymore. This last situation burnt out all the hope he once had.

He felt hollow.

"Hey, uh... I'm sorry.", apologized MK, embarrassed. "I blame everything in you, but you're the only one who actually comes up with the plans, so... yeah, I'm just mad. Don't mind me."

"I just... I...", stuttered Frisk, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"I wish Sans was here. He'd know what to do."

A long and hurting silence fell upon them as those words were said. Frisk looked at MK, who looked back, and the human knew they both were thinking the same thing. It was the first time one of them had said Sans' name out loud ever since Papyrus had left them the month before. That old wound inside Frisk's heart began hurting again – proving, better than ever, it hadn't quite healed.

"There's no use thinking that.", the human replied, breaking eye contact with MK. "Sans is gone. He can't help us. We're by ourselves."

"Don't you miss him? And Papyrus?", said MK, ignoring him. Their voice tone was bittersweet, like they were reminding memories that were long lost. "I mean... they made things seem easier than they actually were. Now, every day feels like we have to walk through hell."

Frisk felt something stuck in his throat – a feeling he was getting too used to for his own sake.

"Of course I miss them.", he said, every word a struggle to come out. "That's why I want to reset, too. I want to bring Sans back. I want Papyrus to be happy."

As for the taller skeleton, Frisk had no idea of what had become of them. They had left the human and MK after a heated argument a couple days after Sans died. Perhaps they were out there, surviving day after day. Perhaps they had turned into dust, like their brother.

Most likely, Frisk would never know.

"Um... Frisk?", called MK.

"Yeah?"

It was clear MK wanted to ask a question, but whatever it was, he was taking too long to speak out. Frisk looked at him, expectantly, until he shook his head dismissively.

"Nevermind."

Frisk would normally ask what was going through the monster's mind, but he was feeling so broken inside he didn't find the strength to do so. Part of him decided to let it drop because it was afraid that whatever they had to say could break him apart even more.

The eerie atmosphere of the dark cell filled him with sorrow.

* * *

" _Don't worry, it's not a cell. But it doesn't mean it won't ever be."_

Sleeping in a prison cell definitely wasn't comfortable.

Not that Frisk's night would have been much better if he was sleeping in an actual bed. His mind was assaulted by all kinds of night terrors he couldn't quite make out – flashing lights of red, blue and white; formless beings that surrounded him, talking in loud, unintelligible whispers. Were they monsters? Were they humans? Or were they something else entirely?

More than once he woke up jolting up, his forehead dripping with cold sweat. He never remembered what he had been dreaming – the only things the nightmares left were the cold sensation in his palms and the burning feeling in his stomach.

When the light of day began pouring throw the prison bars, Frisk gave up on sleeping and just sat by the corner of the cell, looking at the illuminated spots the sun marked on the ground. Soon, he realized he was hungry, and remembered his backpack. He knew there was some food stored in there, but of course the group of humans confiscated everything when they threw Frisk and MK on that cell – which included their rations.

The reptilian monster eventually woke up too, and sat by the corner opposite to the human. The funniest thing was that Frisk didn't even notice when they did that.

The two didn't exchange a word. There was nothing to be said.

Eventually, another feeling decided to join the hunger and the misery: boredom. Frisk grew restless – the lack of things to do in that cell was agonizing. Every second spent there could have been a second to be used to travel back to Mt. Ebott. They were wasting precious time.

That was the reason why, when Frisk heard approaching steps, he stood up and went forth, grabbing the prison bars with both his hands, eager to see who it was. He didn't care he probably looked desperate and ridiculous – there was no reason for him to hold on to his pride anymore.

The person that showed up was a woman Frisk remembered to have voted for going to Ebott the day before. An expression of indifference marked her face, and she was holding something – two cans.

The human was about to ask about it when she threw the cans at him. He managed to catch one, but the other fell to the ground with a loud noise, rolling. Frisk took a good look at the label – canned peaches. But...

"Thanks.", he said, his voice thin. "But how are we supposed to open this?"

"Not my problem.", she said, shaking her head before turning around and walking away.

Frisk wanted to shout, but that wouldn't have been worth anything. Instead, he simply picked the other can from the ground and placed them on top of the cell's hardened bed. MK stood up and walked next to him.

"So... what are we gonna do?", they asked.

"Can't you summon one of those spears?", asked Frisk in return.

MK shook his head, demotivated.

"That's a bit too overpower, dude. It'd just blow the cans up."

Impatient, Frisk grabbed one of the cans and attempted to force the lid open with his bare hands. It didn't work.

They ended up using one of the metal edges from the corner of the bed to open the cans – a long, tiresome process that produced small cuts through Frisk's fingers. It also made a lot of noise, and the human was surprised no one showed up to check it out.

The information on the labels told them the peaches were still good, but they tasted awful nonetheless. Perhaps that was what canned peaches tasted like? As he helped MK to eat, Frisk noticed he had never actually eaten fresh peaches before. He hoped they were better than the ones they were currently eating.

MK burped as Frisk tossed the last can at the corner of the cell.

"Man, I _hate_ canned food.", he said. "It's one of the few things I can never eat by myself."

"Eh, I don't mind helping.", stated Frisk, shrugging. "But I bet you'd like canned food if Eileen was the one feeding you..."

MK bumped into the human's shoulder in a playful way.

"Shut up. And you're not _feeding_ me, you're helping me to eat."

"What's the difference?"

"Babies are fed. I'm not a baby."

"That's open for interpretation, really."

"C'mon, dude, I'm only, like, two years younger than you! I can handle myself most of the time just fine."

Frisk knew too well that was true – both him and MK had gone through horrors no one their age should. That war had hardened them, and in some aspects made them mature earlier than normal time.

It didn't mean only bad things had happened, though. Through the past months, Frisk began to see MK as a brother of sorts – not a younger one, that needed to be protected, but an equal. Someone he could rely on as much as they could rely on him. It was a comforting thought, even though the human didn't know if the monster felt the same about him.

The peaches might have tasted bad, but at least they were fed, which made them feel a little better. They passed the time by making small talk and silly jokes. Even the silences were no longer tense and awkward, but companionable.

They didn't know what time of the day it was, although the sun was still pouring through the bars, when they heard yet another set of footsteps approaching. This time, however, Frisk didn't bother standing up, and just kept sat by MK's side – even when he noticed who the person was.

For a long moment, she stood there staring at them, next to the bars, not saying a word. Frisk fought the temptation of asking if she thought she was in a zoo, and they were the main attraction.

"Why?", finally asked Eileen.

MK's breath quickened – and again, not because of anxiety or fear. Frisk looked down to conceal the smug that momentarily appeared on his face.

"Why what?", he questioned back, pretending he didn't know _exactly_ what the girl wanted to know.

She didn't seem to be in mood for those little games, as she stomped on the floor, impatient.

"You stole our cars keys. _Why_?", she repeated.

No longer with the silly smile on his face, he looked up, staring Eileen in the eyes. And, of course, she looked back, just as determined. Frisk gave a dry laugh.

"To go back to Mt. Ebott.", he answered.

He felt MK's stare on him – they weren't expecting the human to actually respond sincerely to the question. Eileen, however, gave a long, tired sigh, passing her hand on her curly hair.

"What's up with Ebott anyway?", she asked.

Frisk bit his lip, divided between dismissing the girl or telling the truth. If he chose the former, he'd probably diss a bad joke that would render him and MK some bad laughs later. But there was something in her voice – a genuine tone of curiosity behind the heavy layers of despise – that made him decide for the latter.

"There's something there... something that could stop this war.", he said.

Eileen shook her head, thinking.

"There's no weapon there.", she said. "Don't try this bullshit on me, I know you lied yesterday..."

"Yes, I did."

"...but there's something _else_ in there, right? Something that would convince you that stealing our vehicles was a good idea."

Frisk snorted. So Eileen was _really_ perceptive. She sensed there was more to the situation than it seemed – but would she be ready if she discovered the truth behind the human's actions?

"There is.", he said, slowly. "Have you ever heard of time travel?"

Frisk didn't even see Eileen turning around and walking away, leaving him and MK alone once more. The latter was scandalized.

"' _Have you ever heard of time travel before'_!?", he repeated. "Wow, _way_ to start an explanation, Frisk! Whatever chance we got of freeing ourselves is gone!"

Strangely enough, the human couldn't care less about the situation.

"She'd have done the same if I started a slow, patient explanation.", Frisk stated. "I just skipped all that and went straight to business. It's no use trying to explain resets and timelines for her. For any of them, actually."

MK just kept staring at Frisk, still astonished by the human's attitude.

"I... _ugh_ , I wish I knew how your mind works.", they grunted, frustrated. "I see your point, but still..."

They didn't complete the thought – and to be fair the human didn't know what to think of himself either. He kept looking at the light spot the sun was marking on the floor of the cell. It had moved throughout the day, indicating they had been confined in there for quite some time. He wondered if the group would kill them when they left to go after Undyne, or if they would just forget them there. In the last scenario, Frisk imagined for how long he'd be able to keep his sanity.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. There was something wrong with him, and that prison cell certainly wasn't helping.

* * *

 _The day was sunny, but Frisk's whole body was soaked._

 _What had happened? He was by a river. The water seemed so fresh and nice, it was running fast and it was beautiful. He just wanted to enter for a little while, that's all._

 _He coughed. His throat felt a little funny. Maybe mommy would know what to do. She always did._

 _But where's mommy?_

 _He called. He walked alongside the river. She was right by his side a moment ago._

 _Did she leave him?_

 _Then, he heard something coming from the river. Splashes and gasps from someone._

 _Oh, there was mommy! But what was she doing? Was she playing?_

 _He called. His throat hurt and he was tired, he didn't want to be in that place anymore. He wanted to go home._

 _But then he felt something weird. Right in the heart, and he felt another sensation in his throat, that got bigger and bigger and bigger until he was crying. What was happening?_

 _Why wasn't mommy getting out of the water? Didn't she like him anymore?_

 _The splashes stopped._

 _Mommy had somewhere else to go._

* * *

Frisk jolted up awake, gasping for air. Sweat covered his face and made his clothes feel stuck to his body. Prison cells definitely weren't good for a nice, healthy night of sleep.

He blinked several times in an attempt to make the drowsiness go away, and noticed MK was not only awake, but also standing up. They looked at the human with a fearful expression, and for a moment Frisk feared he had been screaming during his sleep.

"Did it wake you up too?", asked MK, going to the bars and glancing nervously to the other side – even though all there was to see were the dark corridors.

Frisk slowly stood up, walking towards the monster.

"What woke me..?"

As if answering his question, there was a loud " _boom_ " sound, and the whole building shook violently. Frisk retreated as small pieces of concrete fell over his head and shoulders.

MK looked at him, and the human could hear their erratic breath. Actually, his own breath was erratic too. He felt a weird pressure on the pit of his stomach. That situation... it felt familiar, and not in a good way.

Then, they heard a hiss that grew in intensity, until it culminated in yet another explosion that shook the building once more. Frisk feared the roof would collapse over them, but fortunately the prison stood its ground. When the dust settled down, the human began hearing – for better or worse – those sounds he knew too well to simply mistaken.

Gunshots. Magic attacks. Screams.

"Monsters are _here_!?", exclaimed MK, his voice thinner than usual.

Almost in an hypnotic state, Frisk grabbed the bars and shook them. He didn't know exactly what he intended to obtain doing that, but he knew he needed to get out of that cell. The sounds of furious battle not only were hearable from the outside, but they also echoed through the corridors – which meant the fight was partially taking place inside the prison.

But then, another sound joined it – too low at the beginning, but becoming gradually distinguishable. When Frisk noticed what it was – it was too late for him to tell MK to hide.

Quickly approaching footsteps.

Before he could do anything, the person showed up. It was Eileen. Frisk and MK just kept staring at her as she fumbled her pockets intensively until she finally found a key. She clumsily fit it into the cell's lock, leaving the human confused. Was she going to set them free? But why?

However, when Eileen finally managed to unlock the cell, she pushed its door so hard it clashed against the bars, and Frisk knew something was wrong. She immediately entered the cell in large steps towards MK's direction, who just looked at her dumbfounded until she pushed him, making him almost trip and fall.

"Hey!", exclaimed Frisk.

But the human froze in place as she drew her handgun out of her pocket and pressed it against MK's forehead. The monster gasped in fear, his eyes fixed on the barrel right above his eyes.

"Did you call them!?", she screamed, but MK didn't respond. "Was it you!? ANSWER ME!"

"N... no! Please, I..!", the reptilian monster closed his eyes, panic taking over.

"THEN HOW ARE THEY HERE!?"

"I... I don't know, I-I swear!", replied MK, desperation clear in his voice.

Eileen didn't look stable. She was shocked and scared, that much was certain. Frisk had to act before she could do anything regrettable.

"Hey, leave him alone!", he said, his voice loud and clear. "We don't have anything to do with..."

The girl simply changed her target, pressing her gun to Frisk's forehead instead. The human gulped.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't have _anything_ to do with this!", she commanded.

Having a gun pressed against the forehead was unsettling to say the least, but Frisk took a deep breath and looked straight into Eileen's eyes. Even though it was dark, he could still see them – and the fear they were showing.

"We don't know what is going on. We're just as confused as you are."

Frisk spoke slowly and with a surprising calming tone of voice. Eileen kept staring at him, her expression difficult to read, when suddenly she withdrew her gun and pointed it at the ground, sighing and shaking her head. For a moment, no one spoke anything, and the only sounds were those of the battle that was happening in that instant.

"Follow me.", she said, breaking the silence and exiting the cell, disappearing beyond the corridor.

Frisk looked at MK, blinking in confusion, while the monster looked back at him, astonished. Had they heard that right?

Before they could decide on that matter, Eileen ran back to the cell, hitting the grip of the handgun on the bars, producing a piercing metallic sound. It seemed she was serious about that.

"Why are you still here!?", she asked, impatient. "Come with me before I change my mind and shoot you two right here, right now!"

It sounded more like an empty treat, but neither Frisk nor MK were willing to take the risk. They ran after her until they finally got out of the cells' division. Frisk gasped in surprise as they entered the entrance corridor. The front door and the wall around it had been destroyed, and part of the roof had collapsed. The gunshots sounded louder, and Frisk could hear familiar voices shouting orders over them, although he couldn't exactly make out what they were saying.

However, that wasn't the place Eileen wanted to take them. After a brief moment in which she stared at the debris in confusion, she recomposed and opened the door to a set of stairs that would lead them to the upper floors. Frisk didn't like the idea of going up in a building that could collapse at any given moment, but he felt he had to follow the girl – partially because of plain curiosity, and partially because she held a gun and looked dangerous with it. It would be best not to go against her, for the moment.

"Where are you taking us?", asked Frisk, speaking loudly because of the noises around them.

Eileen kept running ahead of them, going up set of stairs after set of stairs, and showed no signs of having heard the human's question.

"Can you at least tell us where we're going?", Frisk tried again after a while.

Once again, he didn't get a response, but they had reached the floor Eileen wanted to go – the last one. She burst out through the door and bolted across the corridor. Frisk and MK struggled to keep up with her pace.

Suddenly, as they were about to turn around a corner, something showed up in front of them. Eileen stopped in her tracks while Frisk did the same right behind her, and MK bumped into him.

At first, Frisk thought it was gigantic pile of feathers, but he quickly noticed it had eyes – a monster, no doubt about it. It seemed kind of cute until it opened its "mouth" – in reality, the feathers moved to form a hole beneath the eyes – and discharged an energy beam that hit the wall next to Eileen, leaving a black mark on it. Frisk was immediately reminded of that weird skull Sans had summoned months prior.

The girl turned around, tripping on her own feet, and Frisk and MK did the same. The corridor flashed white every time the creature launched that beam, and one time it almost hit him – only missing by inches. Soon enough, he heard gunshots being fired, and running, he looked back to see Eileen shooting back with her gun towards the monster. She didn't hit, but it forced the monster to retreat to protect themselves.

Frisk pressed his back against the wall as soon as he turned the corner. MK appeared shortly after, panting, and Eileen stopped next to them, putting her hands on her knees, shaking. The yellow monster carefully approached her.

"Uh... you alright?", he asked.

"What?", she asked, looking up, and it was the first word she directed at either of them that didn't have an aggressive tone behind it. "Yeah, yeah... I'm fine."

She stood up once again and unloaded the magazine from her gun, holding it close to her face. After some seconds, she made a frustrated sigh with her mouth.

"Six bullets.", she said to Frisk and MK, loading the clip back. "It's my last mag and I'll have to make it count. You!", she directed to MK. "You can shoot magic, right?"

"Y-yes!", replied MK, his voice failing for a bit.

"Then _use_ it.", she grunted through her teeth. "Don't expect me to save you from them."

"Yessir!", nervously yelled MK in an automatic state. "Uh... ma'am..?"

"Good. Let's go.", she said, beginning to run once again.

"Whoa, wait..!", called Frisk, watching her distance herself. "Where..!?"

"Leave your questions for later.", said MK, running after her. "Wherever she's taking us, it seems to be important!"

That much Frisk had already deduced from her past actions. But what could have motivated Eileen – who had always been so suspicious of him and MK – to not only go unlock their prison cell, but also lead them _anywhere_? There was only one way to find out: to keep following her. And so, Frisk joined the girl and the yellow monster on the run.

They turned some more corners – the precise directions Eileen took showed she knew the inside of the building like the palm of her hand. Frisk, however, knew that he wouldn't be able to find the way back alone. Not easily, anyway. Finally, Eileen slowed down until she came into a halt in front of a door. She opened it, and the two boys followed her into the room.

Although the human didn't know for sure, he reckoned it was some sort of operation room – the type he had seen in some old action movies before. Big communication machines were against the walls both on the left and right side of the room – and they seemed a little outdated for modern standards, which made Frisk wonder if they were even working at all when the war started. The only wall that wasn't covered by those machines was the one opposite to the entrance, which had a big, open window. The sounds of buzzing magic and gunshots were louder there, and the room flashed with multicolored lights that seeped in because of them.

Frisk didn't resist the temptation to go towards the window and take a peek outside. Just looking to the ground from above immediately made him feel a little faint – they were really high. Unidentified shadows moved down there, either shooting spells or bullets. They seemed separated by a distance, and the human couldn't really count how many monsters there were, but it was clear the people from Leonard's group were in disadvantage. He felt a squeeze in his heart as he came into that realization.

"What..?", he began to ask, turning around to face Eileen, when the girl threw something heavy on him.

He caught it, letting out a huff as he did so. It took him a while to realize what it was – his backpack, no mistaking it. But that only left Frisk more confused. Was Eileen returning his things? Why was she doing such a thing?

He looked up, eager for answers, and jumped in his spot. She was pointing a gun at him.

No, wait... she wasn't pointing it at him – she was actually holding the barrel, and the part pointing towards him was the grip. She was _offering_ him to take it.

Hesitant, he reached out and grabbed the gun – and it felt familiar in his hands, which was both comforting and unsettling at the same time. He didn't even had to look to know that was the pistol he had taken from a certain cabin in the woods more than three months before, and had been keeping with him ever since.

Holding the bag in one hand and the gun in the other, he looked to the ground as millions of questions popped in his head. That was an unexpected turn of events. Eileen was planning something, but what?

"I don't understand...", he said, looking up to face the girl.

In the future, Frisk would remember Eileen because of her determined, fierce expression. That time, however, he only saw pain and tiredness – the look of someone who had lived through unimaginable horrors. Even though she was about Frisk's age, she looked a lot older because of that. The human wondered if the same applied to him.

"I thought... earlier, that you were bullshitting us.", she explained, walking to another side of the room. "Because if you were telling the truth, this doesn't make _any_ sense. A weapon? In Mt. Ebott? This is too much for me to believe in just like that, but..."

She hesitated for a moment, as if analyzing if what she had said was sinking in.

"But somehow...", she continued. "I think... no, I _feel_ you're telling the truth. There really _is_ something in Mt. Ebott, right? Even if you don't want to tell me what it is, I just... I can't shake this feeling."

Frisk was speechless. It turned out Eileen was even more perceptive than what she had initially let on. He was taken by a sudden desire of explaining everything – she deserved that much. However, he held himself back. No explanation was needed – telling anymore than what was necessary would only leave doubt in her. And doubt would be their worst enemy at that moment.

She then put her hand in her pocket and picked something up, shaking it in the air. Frisk's heart leaped – it was a bunch of keys he remembered all too well to simply forget.

"You needed a vehicle, right?", she said, the corners of her mouth forming a smirk. "Let's go get it."

The human couldn't help but smile back. When he thought everything had been lost, a ray of hope shone on him once more. Perhaps, that time it would actually stay to permanently fuel him with determination.

However, they were not out of danger yet. And that was proven by the door breaking down with a loud noise, startling the three in the room. Whatever broke it did it with such force it took some pieces of the concrete around the door, lifting a high amount of dust.

The creature that stepped inside was unlike anything Frisk remembered from the Underground. In few words, one could describe them as a moving statue – a humanoid figure, though more square-shaped. Nonetheless, their rough form didn't stop them from moving slickly – in fact, they were approaching the two humans and the reptilian monster with surprising speed. They didn't have a mouth, but they did have two small dots in their "head" that glowed with an eerie green light.

Eileen was the first to snap out of it, pulling her gun upwards and shooting. The loud noise from the gunshots left Frisk briefly disoriented for a moment, before he pointed his own pistol and shot a couple times himself. The girl handled shooting a lot better than Frisk did – she targeted the monster's head and seemed to be actually hitting all her shots, whereas Frisk only managed to hit random parts of the creature's body. Unfortunately, either way was just as ineffective – the bullets craved into the monster, but didn't seem to do any damage, much less stop them from approaching. Even MK's magic was useless against it: he attempted to help by summoning his magic spears, but they simply shattered when hitting their target.

Frisk barely had any time to react when the monster flailed their arms around, dodging the attack just in time. However, while Eileen and MK managed to get out of the way just fine, the human lost his balance and fell to the ground. The creature, noticing it, chose him to be their next target.

As they approached with slow but decisive steps, Frisk backed himself into a corner of the room, using it as support to stand up. He could hear MK shouting and attacking the monster with their magical spears, but the creature didn't even flinch.

Suddenly, the sounds of rhythmic, successive gunshots – like those that came from machine guns – filled the room, and the monster finally stopped, taken by surprise. Frisk took the chance to escape from them, joining MK and Eileen on the other side of the room. Panting, the human noticed the back of the creature was pockmarked with gunshots before they turned around to face who had attacked them.

"Hey, ugly!", called Chris, targeting the monster with his submachine gun. "Why don't you bully someone your size?"

"Chris..!", exclaimed Eileen.

The stone monster then charged at the man, showing how agile it actually was. One successful punch from them surely meant instant death, but Chris was quicker, and rolled to the side. Kneeled from a safe distance, he began shooting the creature again. That seemed to slightly slow them down, but they still approached him with dangerous speed.

Frisk didn't know exactly what motivated him to begin shooting the monster as well – but something in his heart told him he needed to help Chris, even if it would put his own life in danger in the process. They noticed they were being hit by more than one direction and stopped, confused.

"Damn, this thing is a bullet sponge!", mumbled Eileen, positioning herself by Frisk's side.

"Doesn't matter.", replied Frisk between a shot and another. "We'll keep on fighting."

Eileen seemed to like the idea.

"Now you're talking.", she said, pointing her gun and placing yet another successful shot at the monster's head.

And so, the real battle began.

The adrenaline pumping into Frisk's blood made all his confusion go away, and he felt strangely aware of his surroundings. Somehow, he, Eileen, MK and Chris worked in perfect cohesion, and they didn't need to shout or instruct each other for most of the part for when to attack and when to wait. Meanwhile, the stone monster didn't seem to be much damaged, but they were getting tired. Slowly.

Something in Chris was different that time around. Their expression was devoid of the usual warm and quirkiness it usually had. The way they positioned themselves wasn't open and friendly, but menacing. Frisk remembered hearing he was an ex-military – and any doubts he had if that was true or not vanished from the moment he saw them in battle.

They were doing fine. The monster was advancing towards Frisk and Chris, who were by the room's door. Eileen was close to the window, and MK was nearby the wall opposite to her.

Suddenly, the creature changed its course.

Quickly turning around, they ran towards Eileen, ready to attack her. Chris gasped and a panic sensation filled Frisk's chest.

The girl was agile and threw herself to the side, dodging the monster, but they didn't have anytime to breathe with relief – the monster had chosen Eileen as their next target, and didn't seem willing to change it. From the ground, she pointed her gun and attempted to shoot. Nothing happened.

She had run out of ammunition.

The creature grabbed Eileen's neck with their stone hands, lifting her from the ground. She struggled, attempting to kick it, but to no avail – the monster was far too strong. Frisk paralyzed – even though every cell in his body screamed for him to do something, he simply watched as the monster began lifting Eileen's body towards the open window.

"Eileen!", yelled Chris, pulling the trigger from his weapon. It clicked.

He was out of ammo, too.

"NO!", he screamed, throwing his weapon to the ground.

The following moments seemed to pass in slow motion. Chris ran towards the stone monster, holding no firearm or weapon of any sort, as the creature was almost passing the girl's body to the other side of the window, ready to drop it.

Chris threw himself with his full weight to the monster, grabbing them by their waist. With the sudden charge, they dropped Eileen, who fell safely inside the room.

But they didn't stop – the creature lost balance and fell from the window. And Chris was still holding them on when that happened.

Time began flowing normally again, but it took Frisk some seconds for what just had happened to actually sink in. He looked at Eileen, who looked back. And then, both their expressions turned into horrified ones. The girl immediately stood up and ran to the window, looking down.

"CHRIS!", she screamed.

Frisk and MK ran and joined her, looking down. Even though the battle outside had not stopped, and magic attacks and gunshots zapped everywhere, the human instantly noticed the mass of broken stone right below their window. And under it, he could see an arm – but it wasn't moving. It was limp. Lifeless.

Frisk felt all the temperature drain from his face and his hands. Eileen clenched her fists and beat the window's edge in a display of frustration. Or was it despair?

"Dammit, Chris...", she said in a low tone, shaking her head.

The human felt weird. He had only known Chris for two days, but realizing they were dead felt like trusting a knife into his stomach. It was like losing something that could have been saved in the first place. Most of all, it made a very unpleasant memory surface. He embraced himself and let out a shaky sigh.

"Are you... alright?", he heard MK say, softly.

Frisk turned around to discover the reptilian monster had directed the question not to him, but to Eileen. They looked worriedly at her, who was with her back turned to the human. She placed her hand in her face, making a movement Frisk interpreted as wiping a tear before she spoke.

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine, I just...", she said, her voice cracking a bit. "Nevermind."

She was clearly on the verge of tears, but she was holding back. Even in the current situation, she was too tough to cry – at least in front of Frisk and MK. Instead, she simply cleared her throat, glancing at Frisk behind her shoulder.

"We still...", she began, stopping for a moment. " _You_ still need to get out of here.", she corrected.

She had a determined look, but Frisk knew it was being difficult for her to keep carrying on. If he was feeling for Chris' demise, he could only imagine how Eileen was taking it, considering she knew him for far longer than the human did.

Nevertheless, they needed to keep going. So Frisk nodded, wearing his backpack while the three got out of the room.

Magic zapped. Gunshots fired. It was maddening – and even if Frisk was purely focused on the objective ahead, those sounds never really passed unnoticed by his mind. It was a constant reminder that death was waiting just around the next corner.

They reached the stairs and began going down. Frisk thought about the vans – they were in the courtyard, very vulnerable to attack. Were they even functional? No – he couldn't think like that. He needed to hold on to the hope they'd make it. Hope was all that was left.

Finally, the three reached the ground floor, entering the destroyed corridor. Running around the debris, they went outside, where the battle was happening in full force. Frisk saw shadows running somewhere in the distance by the corner of his eye, but they were too occupied shooting either with firearms or with magic to bother with the three teenagers that had appeared on the scene. That didn't mean they were immune against crossfire, though.

"Keep your head down.", said Eileen, crouching, and Frisk and MK did so.

They sneaked by the prison wall, moving swiftly towards the corner of the building. Eileen guided the way, followed closely by MK. Frisk was on the end of the line, looking back from time to time to make sure they hadn't been spotted. So far, nobody had noticed them.

They stopped by the corner. Eileen took a peek and then made a movement for both Frisk and MK to approach. She pointed at something in the distance – two shadows in the dark that in the moment meant true happiness.

"There they are.", she said, looking at the human. "The vans. One of them will be your way out of here."

She then picked the bunch of keys from her pocket and handed it to Frisk. He nodded and pocketed it himself. She turned around to look at the vans once more.

"On my signal...", she began. "You two run and get a van. Get the hell out of here and don't stop until you've made a safe distance from here. Understood?"

"Your hair smells nice...", mumbled MK, looking hypnotized by the girl.

"Thanks, I washed it yest... wait, _what_?"

"Uh..."

"Did you..?"

Frisk slapped MK on the back of his head, and the monster let out a loud " _ouch_ ", turning around to glance an annoyed look at the human.

"Hey man, was that really necessary!?"

"Yes.", replied Frisk, harshly. "Yes, it was. We gotta focus!"

 _BOOM!_

A wave of heat passed through the three, and it came from their front. Frisk looked and felt his heart sink. The vans – they were on fire. The human's instincts told him it was okay – it was a small fire, they could put it out if they acted quickly.

And then the second explosion happened, accompanied by yet another wave of heat. Small pieces of the vehicles were scattered around it, while most of it was being consumed by the flames that reached alarming heights.

"You _gotta_ be kidding me.", was the only thing Frisk managed to say.

"Shit!", exclaimed Eileen, standing up. "Shit!", she repeated, walking in circles and passing her hands through her hair. It was the first time Frisk saw her freaking out.

She then stopped and looked at the two, her eyes filled with the light that only appeared when someone remembered something important.

"There's another one!", she said. "It's on the back of the building!"

Frisk sighed, uncomfortable. He was glad their chances were not yet finished, but he refused to become optimistic. It seemed every time he did so things turned against him.

"Do you think it's still there?", he asked.

"I don't know, but it's our only chance!", she replied, and there was a note of desperation in her voice. "We gotta try it!"

"Wait... if it's on the back of the building...", began MK. "It means we'll have to get through the crossfire. What are the odds of we making it alive?"

MK did have a point – and luck hadn't been really on their side lately. Up until that point, the human had been risking everything for uncertain results, but he wondered if that wouldn't be his doom in a not-so-distant future.

He took a while to notice Eileen was staring angrily at both of them.

"So _what_!?", she yelled. "That didn't stop you from trying to steal our vehicles yesterday, and that didn't stop us from fighting that _thing_ up there! And I bet you went through a lot in this war!"

Her voice cracked on various spots, and Frisk felt the weight those words carried behind them. They almost made him fall to his knees, unable to keep up with it, but he stood his ground.

"So don't you _dare_ give up now!", she continued. "Chris... he didn't... he didn't sacrifice himself so you would give up! So don't. You. Dare!"

Mentioning Chris felt like a punch in the gut. Their death had been so surreal – partially because Frisk thought they were one of these people that could never die, that no matter how dangerous the situation became, they would make it through with a smile. Kind of like Sans was, before they too found their demise.

" _maybe we can have a party afterwards, heh. But now, we need to get out of this place. what do you think?"_

That time, the memory of the shorter skeleton, however, wasn't a painful one, like a stab in the chest. Sans was always telling them to go forward, to keep moving. If Frisk had any respect for them, he had to take his chances, no matter how low they were.

And he was filled with determination.

The three exchanged looks, and Frisk felt there was some kind of mutual agreement between them. Before the human knew it, they were running at full speed around the building.

The battle sounds got unbearably loud. Frisk could feel the heat from the offensive magic the monsters threw around, and the air smelled like smoke, gunpowder, and something else – maybe blood, maybe dust, maybe something even worse than those. It wasn't anything new to the human when it came to that war, but that didn't mean he was used to it. It was impossible to get used to it.

"GET DOWN!"

The human instinctively threw himself to the ground as he felt something flying over his head and hitting the prison. It exploded, making fragments of bricks fall over his back. After some seconds, he stood up, spotting MK a few feet away, having trouble to stand. He ran to the monster and helped them get up.

"C'mon, quick!", Frisk heard Eileen call them a little bit ahead – her voice muffled by the zapping sounds around them.

And they ran, and ran, and ran. They never seemed to get tired – there was so much adrenaline in their bloods they could run for days. They dodged spells, threw themselves to the ground when they heard gunshots and assumed a crouched stance from time to time. Soon enough, dirt, dust and sweat covered all the unprotected inches from Frisk's skin, and the same applied to Eileen and MK.

Frisk had never felt so scared in his entire life – but his determination was as strong as ever. He felt a gunshot pass by close, making him temporarily deaf by one ear. A magic spell exploded right by his side, somehow making him go even faster. He was in such overdrive he could lose a limb right there and he probably wouldn't notice until things had calmed down.

Somehow, they made it. Frisk could feel the air a little more pure, and the sounds of battle grew more distant. Eileen ran in front of them, leading them to their objective, and she wasn't slowing her pace. They weren't safe – they would never truly be.

They found themselves in a more isolated area, even though it technically was still inside the facility. The prison building could still be seen, but it was distant enough so they wouldn't be noticed. And as they left the heated battle behind, it was unlikely that would happen.

Frisk's attention was drawn to the vehicle in front of him. Unlike the other two that were destroyed, that wasn't a minivan, but more like a pickup truck. The human walked around it, analyzing. The truck had seen some tough times, as evidenced by some dents on its bodywork and a smashed light, but it looked usable despite all that.

"Are you gonna just keep looking or will you two go already?"

Eileen sounded impatient and worried, and there were a lot more emotions hearable in her voice, but Frisk couldn't pin each one of them out. He looked at the girl – the girl that, when they met, was a potential threat and then became an unexpected ally. He wanted to say something – anything – to thank her for giving him that chance, but the words were getting stuck in his throat.

"Thank you.", he managed to say, simplistically. "For everything."

She glanced him a weird look – like the face of forced patience someone makes when explaining something to a small child.

"Don't mention it.", she said. "Just do your thing, and try not to die in the way, please."

The human nodded nervously. That was the closest from a goodbye they were going to get from each other, so he decided to go directly to business and took the keys from his pocket, beginning to try to fit them in the car's lock. It was hard to do so in the dark, but he tested each key, his heart increasingly beating faster when a key didn't fit and he'd go to the next. Alongside that, he began feeling chills in his back – a weird kind of apprehension that left him more and more unsettled.

Like there was something behind him.

"FRISK, WATCH OUT!"

The human quickly turned around. Something was not right.

The first thing he saw was a figure that strongly resembled a human right in front of him, with humanoid arms and legs – but their head was that of an octopus, complete with a disgusting looking mouth that had mini tentacles coming out from it. To top it off, they were covered with a thick and smelly slime that had a greenish tone.

Frisk's instincts told him to back off, but as the car was right behind him, he found himself stuck between the monster and the vehicle. He froze in fear, unable to move, and the creature took this chance to knock Frisk down to his side and hold him to the ground by his torso.

The human kicked and squirmed to break free, to no avail. He heard shocked screams from Eileen and MK, and the sounds of MK's spears attacking the monster – and although they seemed to be hurt by it, they didn't let go their grasp on Frisk. Their face was inches from his, and a primal terror installed within his heart when they opened their mouth to let its tentacles begin to wrap around his throat, squeezing it.

Soon enough, he couldn't breathe anymore – and the squeeze was just getting tighter. The sounds of screams began to feel more distant. He had seconds until he'd lose his conscience.

But somehow, almost in an automatic way, he managed to pick up the handgun inside his pocket. He had even forgotten he had put it there instead of his backpack, like he usually did. Black spots were forming in his vision, getting larger and larger, when he sticked the pistol barrel inside the monster's mouth.

He could feel his last second of conscience fading away when he pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang, and everything stopped. Dust and slime fell all over him, and he coughed, being able to breathe again, gasping desperately for air. His vision began to clarify, and he noticed his whole body was trembling. He felt like someone had thrown him into cold water and then brought him back – leaving him confused and wondering what had actually happened. He saw MK and Eileen standing next to him, glancing down, worried.

As soon as he felt his legs again, he clumsily stood up. He felt the slime against his skin and attempted to clean it off – but it was far too much for him to clean without a towel. He noticed the dust and began to panic, not being able to avoid the vocalizations to come out from his mouth, his voice sounding a lot thinner than usual.

"Frisk...", he heard MK say in a soothing tone.

The human stumbled towards the truck, leaning against it, taking deep breaths. Eileen and MK just watched from a safe distance. Frisk lost track of time, but he didn't care. His mind was insanely filled with billions of thoughts and his heart swirled with different emotions. Eventually, his breath got steadier and he calmed himself down a bit. The reptilian monster carefully approached.

"Hey... dude...", he called softly. "You okay?"

The human didn't really feel okay, but he nodded slowly in agreement, not looking MK in the eyes. He then bended down to pick the keys up from the ground, and began trying to fit one of them in the lock again. The yellow monster made a weird sound with their mouth, like they were surprised Frisk was actually doing that, but the human didn't care.

The last key fitted. The human turned it around and opened the car's door, leaving it wide open – but didn't make any motion to enter. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the moment that just happened beginning to sink in.

"You'll be fine."

To Frisk's surprise, the person who said that was Eileen, with a sympathetic tone in her voice, of all things. Frisk looked at her and their eyes met – and Frisk noticed she actually _understood_ what was going on with him in that moment, in a way not even MK, being closer to him, could. It made him remember the reason they had gone through the trouble of getting to that vehicle again.

"Come with us.", he said, his voice hoarse, but clear. "You deserve to know the truth... to know what really is in Mt. Ebott. I'll explain everything."

The girl didn't look surprised by the request – in fact, she seemed rather conflicted about it. She wanted to go, but something was holding her back. After some seconds, she shook her head.

"No. Not without my father. Or the others.", she said firmly. "They need me, and I need them. No – I feel... whatever is in Mt. Ebott is for you, Frisk. So go there. Do what you think it's right."

Frisk actually expected that answer, so he simply nodded. Of course – how could he explain Eileen about everything that was motivating him to go back to Mt. Ebott, the dark secret of the mountain nobody knew of? The resets? The timelines? That was _his_ world. And Eileen... she was too busy trying to survive. Their paths in that world were as different as night and day.

He glanced a look at MK, who had a determined expression.

"Let's go, MK.", he said.

The reptilian monster nodded and entered the car, sitting on the passenger seat. Frisk went after him, sitting on the driver seat and closing the door. He put the key on the ignition and grabbed the wheel for a moment. That was it. They did it.

He looked at Eileen, who was still outside. They looked each other in the eyes, and although no words were spoken, they both understood.

An agreement had been reached. The girl turned around and ran back to the battle, and as her footsteps grew more distant, an introspective silence filled the place – tainted only by the fight sounds nearby the prison building.

Frisk then turned the ignition. The car lit up.

"Uh...", MK sounded nervous. "You sure you know how to drive this thing?"

Frisk changed the gear stick, trying to remember all the information about transmission changing he had learned by watching television and movies during his life.

"No."

He stepped on the accelerator.


	15. Burial

The highway blurred in a mixture of gray, green and the obfuscating yellow light from the car. It was a good thing the road was only a straight line – it made it easy to get away from the prison and from the battle that was going on there.

"Frisk..."

Even though they had made a good distance from the prison, Frisk's mind was still there. He wondered if anyone else had been injured or killed. The thought made him strangely self-aware of the slime and dust that covered his body, and he felt he was going to throw up.

"Frisk."

He didn't want to. He didn't. He thought, after all those years, he was finally above murder, that he'd never have to kill again. He couldn't understand what was going on. Was he actually feeling _bad_ for the monster that had attacked him? But why?

"Frisk, you're going too fast, we're gonna hit something, c'mon dude..."

It made him feel guilty. He knew the monster had attacked first, so why did he pitied them? Why did he feel so bad? That wasn't natural, nor healthy, wouldn't he ever get a bit of peace of mind?

"Frisk!"

Almost like a reflex movement, the human stepped on the brakes. The truck came into a sudden halt, the wheels making a loud screeching noise against the road. Frisk coughed, feeling nauseated, his hands still on the steering wheel, his palms sweaty.

Although he didn't look, he heard MK relaxing on the passenger seat by his side, and had a feeling they were looking at him.

" _God_ , Frisk.", they said, their voice tired. "You're a nervous wreck. Like, more than usual."

The human simply let his head fall, bumping into the wheel, making the horn echo through the highway for a second.

"I'm sorry.", he said, lifting his head up again. "I'm just... I can't stop thinking about the monster that attacked me back there."

He felt his face go red when he said that – MK would surely think he was insane. He didn't even looked at them – he kept focusing on the highway that extended in front of him, where he could see the first rays of the rising sun appearing. The dark night sky was giving place to a shade of grayish blue.

"Feeling guilty, huh?", commented MK after some seconds.

Frisk was surprised to hear the sympathetic tone in MK's voice instead of a judging one, which made him relax, if only by a little. Still, he chose not to look at them.

"I don't know if it's guilt but...", he began, his eyes now focused on the steering wheel. "But god, it leaves me rattled. I know they attacked me first, and I was just defending myself, but I feel... I feel the same way I felt when I... when Toriel... I don't understand."

He wished he understood. How could he feel the same way about killing Toriel, the lovable monster that wanted to protect him from danger six years prior, and killing whatever had attacked him back in the prison?

"Hey, it's okay to be rattled."

MK sounded so earnest Frisk couldn't help but finally turn his head to face them. They smiled – but their eyes were filled with a sadness the human had never seen in them before.

"You're feeling this way because... well, you don't like killing. And it's not like you're used to it, either.", they calmly began. "The fact you feel _something_ after having killed someone, even if it was in self defense, means that you're still _you_. You're still the same Frisk I met all those months ago... hell, in some ways you're the same Frisk I met back in the Underground all those _years_ ago. I'm not worried you're feeling bad for killing, man. I'd be worried if you didn't feel anything at all."

There was a silence in which MK's words began to sink in. They did make some sense, and on the bare minimum they made Frisk feel a little better. They were right – after everything he'd been through and everything he had done, he was still _him_. And that was an important thing to remember.

"And...", continued the reptilian monster. "You can take comfort in the fact you have only killed in self defense. Not all of us are that lucky."

So that was the reason behind the sad smile. Frisk grabbed the wheel with more force, cursing himself mentally. He was so absorbed into feeling sorry for himself he completely forgot MK also had their share of bad experiences – which included at least one killing. They were following orders, but that didn't make it any better. The human could at least say he killed to protect himself.

Except... that wasn't exactly the case. There was one death... only one death Frisk caused that he didn't feel any guilt about. He couldn't feel any sympathy for _it_. He wondered why, but only for a brief moment. He didn't like thinking about that.

Instead, he gave a dry laugh.

"We're really messed up, huh?", he said, looking to the highway in front of him once again.

"Yeah...", replied MK, looking to the front too.

After that, they both just kept there, doing nothing but enjoy the company of each other. There was something comforting about being in the presence of someone who understood the other's personal hell. They watched the sun rise above a little more, until they had to squint their eyes as the clarity was becoming too great.

"How much fuel do we have?", asked the reptilian monster.

Frisk looked at the gas display, giving a little smile.

"We can still cover a good portion of the way.", he replied, feeling a burst of determination course through his veins.

"Let's go, then."

And Frisk stepped on the accelerator once again. This time, however, he drove at a much more moderated speed.

* * *

The golden flowers that grew on the region were truly amazing. They could withstand hot temperatures as well as cold winters – and considering the temperature fluctuated a lot, there would be times of the year the only flowers to be seen would be them.

Nevertheless, that wasn't the case in the moment. Even though there was a chilly wind blowing and the day had dawned overcast, with rain threatening to fall at any moment, it was nothing the other plants couldn't stand. The golden flowers still stole the spotlight, though, growing strong just about everywhere in the environment.

They were close. Finally, they were _close_. They had been walking for almost a month, and that was after consuming all the fuel they could to cover ground by car.

The trees were familiar, too. They looked just like the trees that grew around Frisk's hometown. The human became naturally excited, and from time to time he'd notice he had sped up his walking pace, which rendered many complaints from MK, telling him to slow down.

"C'mon, MK!", he said, stopping and looking back, smiling. "We'll never reach Mt. Ebott at this pace!"

"Dude, you're almost _running_!", complained MK, catching up. "We've been walking since dawn, can't we take a break or something?"

"We can take a break once we reach town.", said the human, decisively.

He began walking again, this time at a slower pace so he could walk side by side with MK. He was in excellent mood – in fact, he hadn't been in such good vibes for a long time. He could feel it, perhaps that would be the day he'd finally reach his objective.

The reset was near, and with it, the chance to start over again. A chance to fix his mistakes and bring happiness to everyone – including himself.

"Um... Frisk?"

"Hm?"

"There's... something that's been bothering me for a while now."

MK sounded uncomfortable, which made Frisk worry, though they didn't stop walking.

"What is it?", inquired the human.

They still walked in silence for a little more time, and Frisk could almost hear MK's scrambled thoughts inside his head, trying to organize himself so he could say what he wanted.

"It's about, uh... about Sans.", he finally said, though the last word came out noticeably lower than the rest of the sentence. "I've been thinking... he knew about the resets. He could remember them, right?"

"Right."

"So... um... I don't mean to...", he continued, having trouble completing the sentences. "I mean, I know Sans died... but if you look back at what he's been through, the resets and all... don't you think he was, you know... _happy_ that things were moving forward, even in the way they were?"

Frisk stopped walking and looked at MK, not angry, but genuinely uncomfortable himself. A thunder reverberated from the sky, indicating there was a storm coming in the way.

"What do you mean?", asked the human.

"Sometimes I just wonder if resetting is the right thing to do.", stated MK, plainly. "Back in the prison, you said one of the reasons you wanted to reset was to bring Sans back... but I can't help but think if he would actually want to come back after everything he'd been through."

It was a troubling matter, indeed. Frisk looked down, imagining what the short skeleton would tell if they were there with him in that moment.

"I...", the human attempted to say. "He didn't deserve to die, MK. Not in that way."

"I know. I didn't say he did.", they replied. "It's... more complicated than that."

They rubbed their feet on the ground. Frisk swallowed. Despite all the determination to reach his goal, he could understand the monster's point on the matter. It was reasonable to have doubts about the resets – specially when there was so much at stake. The human knew they always had their doubts, and admired the fact that didn't stop them from tagging along with him in that journey.

"Hey...", he called, softly. "I said it before, but I'll say it again. You don't owe me anything, okay? And now that we're closer than ever to Mt. Ebott, I won't ask you to come along if you're uncomfortable with it. I can only thank you for coming with me, but if you don't want to take part in the reset... I won't make you."

"Cut it out, dude!", immediately said MK in return. "I told you we'd do this together. I'm not leaving. I just want to make sure if a reset is what you _really_ wanna do."

Frisk nodded firmly. MK nodded, too, and they began walking once again.

That reset would be the ultimate reset – the one he'd use to make things right. The human still wasn't sure on how he'd do it, though. He had the feeling the answer was in the Underground, of course, but that was about it. He hoped it would click on his mind as he progressed, but so far he hadn't been so lucky.

On the other hand, his journey wasn't over. Reaching Mt. Ebott would only be the beginning.

And then, the trees began getting more sparse. Frisk began to see something in the distance, his heart started to beat harder against his chest and his breathing quickened. He felt weird in his stomach and throat – but that time it wasn't because of something bad had happened. Quite the contrary, actually.

The path they were taking ended on a cliff, but Frisk walked until he couldn't, standing at its very edge. His gaze fixed on the legendary mountain in the distance – separated from him by his hometown at its foot.

"We did it.", Frisk said, his voice shaking a little with emotion. "We did it, MK!"

He laughed joyfully, and it was so infectious MK began laughing too. They laughed in utter and total bliss, enjoying the sweet moment of victory – which had come with the price of a lot of sacrifice and struggles. But after so many hardships, they took comfort in knowing they were indeed close to their final destination. Meanwhile, another thunder reverberated in the distance, and it almost sounded like Mt. Ebott itself was answering, complimenting them for having finally reached it.

* * *

It wasn't the first time Frisk had revisited a town after the war had started. The destruction didn't impress as much the second time around – there wasn't that feeling of shock and primal fear, the type they feel by knowing someone could jump out from the next corner and attack.

No, the type of fear he felt on those occasions was another. More subtle – and somehow, more oppressive. Even in the open, the air felt stale, making it hard to remember there was actually life – let alone whole civilizations – in other parts of the planet. The sense of loneliness was almost maddening.

The same applied for Frisk's hometown – but to the human those factors were playing on a whole new level there. Being the first city assaulted by monsters, it was also the first one to be abandoned – and maybe that was the reason the streets felt even more damp and desolated than ever. There were cracks and holes in the asphalt that weren't there before. Plants and grass had outgrown by far too much. The air smelt rotten.

It was hard to believe that less than a year before the town was brimming with life – shops selling things, people going to work, kids having fun. It was hard to believe Frisk actually had once lived there.

In the orphanage...

"I wanna go check on something.", stated the human.

He didn't speak _that_ loud, but his voice echoed through the empty streets anyway. MK looked at him, blinking a few times. They too were astonished by the town's state – although Frisk doubted they were feeling the same he was. They hadn't lived almost their whole life there, after all.

The two began walking, their footsteps sounding louder than they should. Everything was destroyed, making so many places so different from what they were before, that Frisk thought more than once he was going the wrong way. However, there was always something that would trigger a memory, and he'd recognize some places where he used to hang out. The park where he once tried to fit in with some older kids, only to be laughed at. The little market which had an owner that threw Frisk out of the place because they thought he was "suspicious". The list went on and on.

He wasn't really fond of any of those memories.

Finally, they reached it. Frisk would recognize the building – or what was left of it – anywhere.

He had seen the orphanage's wreckage before – the day after the war broke out, in fact – but somehow, when he turned the corner, he still kind of expected to see it whole. Like after all those months it would still be there, waiting for his return.

But no, all that was left were crumbles and pieces of what was once the town's orphanage. Frisk despised that place – he didn't have any good times or any good friends in there, but still, he was filled with a weird nostalgic feeling. The days spent there were bad, yes, but they were also simple. Frisk didn't carry the weight of the world on his shoulders back then.

He walked until the debris made it impossible for him to proceed any further. He looked to the ground, spotting a faint stain of dried blood on the asphalt. The rains from the past months had almost washed it all away, but it was still visible. Perhaps it was from one of the kids who lived there with him? Or maybe...

Before he could complete the thought, he began to have an odd feeling he was being watched – which should be impossible, since MK and him were the only live creatures around. He looked behind his shoulder, instinctively putting his hand on the pistol's grip in his pocket.

What was odder was the fact, however, he didn't feel threatened. Quite the contrary – the feeling was rather... familiar.

"What... was she like?"

MK's voice pulled Frisk's from his thoughts and worries. He looked to the monster, confused at first, but then he realized the spot where they were standing. It was more or less the same spot Frisk stood on when he and the reptilian monster first met after the war had started. And to be honest, it sure hadn't been the best reunion of all time.

And there was only one "she" they could be talking about.

"I didn't really know much about her." the human explained. "She was the manager of the orphanage, and that's about it."

He looked back to the debris, memories of him being scolded by Mrs. Magda flooding back into his mind. He laughed somberly.

"She didn't treat us very nicely.", he continued. "More often than not, it felt she was doing business with us instead of talking with children who had lost their parents."

But then, he remembered the last time he saw her, before she was killed right in front of his eyes. He remembered her shocked expression when she saw the wrecked orphanage and asked if Frisk thought the other kids were alright.

"But I guess...", he kept on, his voice lower and more introspective. "She _did_ care for the children, even if just a little. In her own way."

Frisk knew in his heart that was true. Maybe Mrs. Magda hadn't been the best person around the children – not even being remotely close of being a role model – but she wasn't all that bad. Running an orphanage must not have been an easy task by any means. Perhaps she had done more for the human and the other kids than he was aware of.

"This reset is for you too, Mrs. Magda.", he mumbled, his voice low enough so MK wouldn't hear.

He then turned around, to find the reptilian monster still standing on that very same spot, looking to the ground with a hurt expression. Frisk approached and touched their neck in a friendly manner.

"You okay?", he asked.

"Yeah... yeah.", MK replied, sounding distant. "Just fine."

Frisk could tell they were far from being "fine", but that was alright. They would be fine, eventually.

"Let's go to Mt. Ebott, then.", stated the human. "There's nothing more left for us here."

MK nodded, giving Frisk a little smile. And so, they walked once more through the streets – away from the orphanage, away from all those memories – and once again Frisk had that strange feeling he was being watched. But he didn't look behind.

They made their way through the ghost town, reaching its limits and entering the forest that separated the city from Mt. Ebott. With each step, Frisk could feel his heart getting heavier. Maybe it was excitement. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was something in between.

They stopped to have lunch when MK began complaining of hunger. Frisk's stomach was way too upset due to the anticipation, but he forced himself to eat something nonetheless. Reaching Mt. Ebott and entering the Underground was, of course, only part of the plan, and he needed to have energy for the next step.

The next step...

In a sudden horrifying moment, he noticed he still had no idea of what he would do once he was inside the Underground. He couldn't keep on autopilot forever and hope things would turn out alright – he needed a plan.

Truth was, he thought it was so unlikely he would actually reach Mt. Ebott in the first place that he never really bothered making a plan if that actually happened. And that was _indeed_ happening.

Those questions bothered Frisk even after they were done eating and resumed their hike. As time passed, the cold wind began blowing stronger. A low thunder sounded from the sky. A storm was in the way, and it was not going to be weak. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find some shelter before climbing the mountain.

And they reached it.

Frisk could barely believe his eyes, but there it was. They were at the foot of Mt. Ebott. The ground became slightly inclined – and in the distance Frisk could see the forest beginning to end, mending with the mountain ground. He had a brief flashback of his younger self venturing there, willing to challenge those old fairytales that kept people away from that place.

The human was ecstatic – and once again felt he was being watched by that same haunting, yet familiar, presence. He looked behind, but just for a moment. There wasn't anything there, anyway.

"Well, here we are.", stated MK, sounding pretty happy himself. He looked at Frisk. "What do we do now?"

The human looked back at the monster, giving a nervous sigh.

"I, uh... I haven't thought about that yet.", he replied, sincerely.

He was expecting the monster to become frustrated to some extent. Frisk had been so insistent about going to Mt. Ebott – about the Underground and the reset –, how come he wasn't sure about how to proceed? Instead, MK just looked up to where the peak of the mountain would be visible if it wasn't surrounded by clouds that day.

"Whoa.", he said. "First time we're clueless on what to do."

The reptilian monster sounded serious, but when Frisk looked he was with a silly smile plastered across his face. They laughed at each other.

"I think...", began the human once they stopped laughing. "My memories from the other timelines are fuzzy, but I think the reset had something to do with the barrier."

"The barrier?", repeated MK, skeptical. "Man, I don't know if you noticed, but the barrier was, uh, destroyed. That's how I'm here with y-"

"Maybe not exactly the barrier, then.", interrupted Frisk, rolling his eyes. "More about where the barrier _was_. After the throne room. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to reset after bringing everyone else to the surface, right?"

"Huh, makes sense, I guess.", they agreed. "We'll cross the entire Underground, then?"

"Pretty much. But what's a little walk across the Underground when we've come so far, huh?"

" _Pfft_. Yeah, right. The Underground may be a lot smaller than the surface, dude, but the way you say it makes it sound like it is the size of a freaking shopping mall!"

"Well, I crossed it once.", shrugged Frisk. "And I'll do it again. End of story."

Those words, added with the sight of the legendary mountain right in front of him, filled his heart with determination. He was going to do it. He was going to reset.

"Um... Frisk... just one more thing...", called the yellow monster. "You haven't forgotten about keeping your memories, right?"

During the last few days, there had been lots of little moments where Frisk would mentally curse himself – and that was one of those. Of course, he needed to make sure he'd keep his memories across the reset – otherwise, he was bound to make the same mistakes again. How could he have missed on such an important detail?

Well, actually, it wasn't a detail. It was a _huge_ part of the plan, which meant he basically couldn't carry it on if he didn't find a way to maintain his memories for sure.

"Oh, god.", said the monster, analyzing the human's expression. "You've forgotten about that, haven't you?"

"W-what? No!", said Frisk, nervously. "Listen, I'm not sure how, but I know there's a way for me to keep my memories. There has to be!"

"Very funny, Frisk."

"I'm serious!", the human insisted. "Otherwise, how would Sans have been able to keep his memories? Hell, how'd he even be able to bring a photograph from another timeline?"

"You have a point, but it's still a shot in the dark."

"I know, but we'll have to work with it. Anyway, there's no need to worry. I won't risk a reset if I'm not sure I can keep my memories."

As soon as he finished the sentence, doubt sprouted in the back of his mind: would he really? Or would he risk everything even if maintaining memories between resets was an uncertainty? Part of him felt he would actually carry on with the plan even on the last hypothesis – it wasn't like there was anything left for him in the timeline he currently was. But then, wouldn't that be selfish? To put everyone in an endless loop, just because he was too stubborn to recognize this plan might not be that great in the first place?

Those were some dangerous thoughts. He shook his head. The reset wasn't all about him. There was more at stake.

 _Crack!_

Both Frisk and MK jumped on their spots and looked back. That cracking sound had come from behind them. The human felt once again that strange feeling he was being watched, and this time it was more intense than ever. He felt his mouth go dry as he picked the handgun up and pointed it towards some trees, around the spot the noise had come from.

"Someone's following us.", stated MK, his voice low and urgent.

Frisk had been feeling that for quite some time – since he was in town, but he didn't pay much attention to it back then. It was a weird feeling – more familiar than menacing, and he didn't understand why. Nevertheless, he couldn't let his guard down.

They weren't alone.

"W-who's there?", the human called, trying to keep his voice calm and firm, but the nervousness was getting the best of him. "Show yourself!"

For a moment, there was no response, just a tense-filled silence that seemed to reverberate through the forest. But then, footsteps. Frisk held his breath and put his finger by the pistol's trigger as a tall, slender figure emerged from behind a tree. And...

And he let the gun fall to the ground, not believing his eyes. It... could it be? Was it _them_?

MK and Frisk just stared at their pursuer, astonished, unsure of what to think. They, in turn, maintained their distance, looking quietly at the two.

Frisk was the first one to do something. He gave a step forward towards the figure, and then other. And other. Insecure at first, but before he knew it, he was running until he reached and wrapped his arms around them. He couldn't believe it. They were actually there.

They were _back_.

"HELLO, HUMAN!", finally said Papyrus, hugging Frisk back. "I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"

They broke the hug, and Frisk looked up, since Papyrus was a bit taller than him. His face was hurting a bit – and it was because he was giving a really big smile. They smiled too, and there was an unfaltering kindness in their eyes that made Frisk sure that was the real Papyrus.

"Papyrus..?", called MK, approaching. "Is that... really you?"

"OH! HELLO, MK!", replied the skeleton, putting his hand on his "chin", clearly making a "thinking pose". "AND WHAT A GREAT QUESTION! AM I THE REAL ME? I THINK I AM, BECAUSE IF I'M NOT, HOW COULD I..."

"Ok, I got it.", interrupted MK, chuckling. "You're Papyrus, alright."

He had seen better days, though. There were small cracks on his bones all throughout his body – nothing really serious, but it indicated he had faced some struggles. One of his teeth – a molar – was missing. His battle body was also pretty damaged – the left shoulder protection was missing and there were small holes on the other, making Frisk's heart tighten a little. Those had been made by someone.

Another thunder sounded from the sky, and a thin rain began to fall. The three, however, just stood there, all marveled by that unexpected reunion.

But then, something changed in Papyrus expression. He still smiled, but his eyes were filled with a sadness that looked almost uncanny on his face, since he was almost always happy and cheerful.

"I'M SORRY.", he said, his voice low. "I'M SORRY I LEFT. I SHOULDN'T HAVE, I..."

He was in pain – that much was obvious. He was trying to find a reason to justify himself, but couldn't really find any. The sight broke Frisk's heart.

"MAYBE I'M NOT THAT GREAT AFTER ALL."

The rain got more intense. The skeleton looked down, ashamed, and Frisk held back the urge to hug them again, thinking maybe they needed their space for the moment. Still... maybe Papyrus had faulted with him and MK when they left the two in a fit of anger, but the human could never have the heart to turn his back on them, now that they all were there. Together.

"Hey.", Frisk called, softly, making Papyrus look at him. "It's okay. You came back. You came back because you're the great Papyrus, and you're always there for your friends when they need you."

That seemed to cheer the skeleton up – the sadness in his eyes waned, even if just by a little.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN. YOU'RE A GOOD FRIEND.", stated Papyrus, putting his hand on Frisk's shoulder. "NOW... WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

By that time, the human's clothes and hair were all soaked, and the same applied to MK and Papyrus. He looked at the reptilian monster, who just stared back, unsure. Of course the skeleton didn't know what they were planning – why they were at Mt. Ebott – and he surely didn't know what they were going to do, and how that would ultimately affect him, too. How that would affect everybody, in fact.

But Papyrus deserved to know the truth.

"I'll tell you.", said Frisk. "We have _a lot_ of catching up to do. But let's take some shelter from the storm first. C'mon, I know a cavern near here that we can go."

* * *

"THIS... IS WEIRD."

The three took shelter inside a cavern near the mountain's foot – a place Frisk remembered exploring the day he fell to the Underground, six years before. The storm raged outside, but they were protected from both the rain and the wind. The sky had turned into a darker shade, and the human wondered if night was approaching.

Meanwhile, Papyrus held the infamous photograph Frisk had been carrying since he found it inside Sans backpack. The skeleton's focus was clearly on the smiling image of their older brother. They looked astonished – and sad. The human wondered how the skeleton had been taking Sans' death.

Frisk had explained everything. About the timelines and resets. How he reset after bringing everyone to the surface in a previous timeline. How he discovered Sans knew about it all. And, mainly, how he was planning to do one last reset to make everything right – including all the risks involved in it.

Papyrus listened to all of it quietly – including the part where they found Eileen, Leonard and their human group. So far, what had shocked him most was the photograph – the ultimate proof what Frisk told him was not just a crazy delusion.

"I know.", said Frisk. "It's a lot to understand all at once, huh?"

"Y-YEAH, I, UH...", mumbled Papyrus, still looking at the photograph. "WOWIE, SANS... WHY HAD YOU NEVER TOLD ME?"

"He was trying to protect you.", it was the most logical thing Frisk could think of, and somehow, he felt that was indeed the truth. "To protect all of us, really. But... there's no use keeping things hidden anymore, is there?"

Another moment of silence, when the only sound heard was that of the storm. Frisk was sat between Papyrus and MK, leaning his back against the cavern's wall.

Then, the skeleton averted his eyes from the photograph and looked at Frisk.

"I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND ALL OF THESE THINGS...", he began, unsure of how to proceed. "BUT I BELIEVE IN YOU, HUMAN! AND IF MK TRUSTS YOU, THEN I'LL TRUST YOU TOO! I'LL GO TO THE UNDERGROUND WITH YOU... UM, IF YOU DON'T MIND..."

The human smiled.

"Of course you can come. That would be great!"

"THEN IT'S SETTLED! ONE FINAL ADVENTURE WAITS FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND HIS WONDERFUL FRIENDS! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk gave a genuine, good laugh. How had he missed Papyrus and their cheerful demeanor. It automatically lifted his spirits up and made the treacherous road ahead of him suddenly not look so bad.

He then stood up, stretching his legs, and walked towards the cavern entrance, looking to the raging storm outside. Yes – the sky was indeed getting darker because the night was falling. For some reason, the sight filled him with an unexplainable melancholy. Maybe it was knowing that timeline was ending. It had been pretty bad for Frisk... but he had to admit some things in it were good. Like Papyrus and MK, for example.

"We'll go tomorrow.", the human said after a while, turning around to look at the other two. "It's not a good idea to climb a mountain in the dark during a storm, so we'll spend the night here."

Both Papyrus and MK nodded. They were really sticking with Frisk until the end, which moved the human, but also made him nervous. If anything happened to them while they were Underground, it would be his fault. His responsibility.

However, he would have to worry about that some other time, as their talk wasn't quite finished.

"What about you?", Frisk inquired Papyrus. "What happened to you during these last two months?"

The skeleton shifted uncomfortably in his place.

"I... UM...", he began, unsure. "I REGRETTED MY DECISION OF LEAVING YOU AS SOON AS I COULD NO LONGER SEE YOU. BUT! I SWEAR I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU THE WAY I DID! I DON'T KNOW HOW I DID THAT!"

"Hey, that's right...", said MK, remembering the events from two months before. "You teleported. Like Sans."

"LIKE SANS.", agreed Papyrus, trying to hide the shame on his voice, but failing. "BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW I DID IT... AND HONESTLY, I DON'T THINK I'LL BE ABLE TO DO IT AGAIN!"

MK leaned his head against the cavern wall, with a pensive expression.

"Hmmm... maybe it's a hidden magic trait on you." he said. "It's rare for them to come out, but one of the possibilities for it to happen is when the monster looses control of their emotions or get under extremely stressing situations. Granted, it happens more often with children... but anyway, it does make sense you have some sort of teleporting magic, even if hidden, considering Sans could do that, and he was your brother..."

Frisk bit his tongue. For MK, that explanation was logical, but the truth was Sans and Papyrus weren't biological brothers, as revealed to him by the former months prior. The human looked at his backpack, and for a moment it seemed to emit a weird aura – the weight of the letter and the bottle of dust he had been carrying inside it burdening him.

"So where did you teleport to?", asked Frisk, trying to change the subject.

Papyrus rubbed his knee caps, still clearly intrigued by the hidden magic thing, before replying.

"THAT'S WHERE IT STARTS TO GET FUNNY... SEE, I TELEPORTED BACK TO THOSE WOODS... THE ONE SANS, YOU AND I CAMPED FOR THE FIRST TIME!"

"Near here, huh...", Frisk mumbled to himself.

"AND THE WEIRDEST THING WAS THAT I WASN'T EVEN THINKING OF THAT PLACE WHEN I POPPED UP THERE! I JUST... DID! BUT I IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED IT!"

The skeleton's voice was somewhat toned down by the rain outside, but Frisk still could hear him clearly. The human and the reptilian monster waited for him to continue.

"FOR A FEW DAYS, I LIVED IN THERE. I THOUGHT I COULD HANDLE LIVING IN THE WILD, BUT TRUTH IS I CAN'T STAND LIVING OFF BERRIES!", he stopped and gave a nervous laugh. "SO I MOVED! I FOUND THE HIGHWAY AND HEADED TO THAT TOWN – YOU KNOW, THE ONE WE FOUND MK! CAN YOU BELIEVE THERE'S STILL A HUMAN RESISTANCE GROUP LIVING THERE?"

Memories from that day that seemed to have happened forever ago flooded back into Frisk's mind. He remembered the moment they met with MK – when the yellow monster was still trying to capture the human for Undyne. And after that, that talk he had with them, that made them decide to stay. He wondered how things would have turned out differently if he had let MK go.

"ANYWAY... AT FIRST I ATTEMPTED TO HIDE, BUT DESPITE MY _AMAZING_ ABILITIES IN HIDING, IT IS PRETTY DIFFICULT TO KEEP HIDDEN WHEN YOU'RE A TALL AND HANDSOME GUY LIKE ME!", Papyrus continued his story, and the comments he made in between automatically put a smile on Frisk's face. "SO I WAS CAPTURED BY THE GROUP! THEY WERE... KINDA MEAN AT FIRST, TO BE HONEST! AND IT TOOK ME SOME DAYS TO CONVINCE THEM I MEANT NO HARM! BUT THEN, I BEFRIENDED THEM!"

The last words echoed in the cavern, and the human tilted his head, unsure if he had heard it right.

"Excuse me?", asked MK, before Frisk could do the same.

"OH, THEY WERE REALLY SWEET ONCE THEY GOT COMFORTABLE WITH MY GREAT PRESENCE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

MK blinked a few times, his mouth half-open in a display of awe.

"How did you _do_ that!?"

"OH, C'MON, I KNOW I'M GREAT, BUT IT'S NOT _THAT_ DIFFICULT! FROM WHAT I HEARD YOU BEFRIENDED SOME HUMANS TOO!"

"I'm not sure I 'befriended' them, for starters, and anyway, Frisk was there, so they were more okay with me because of that.", explained MK. "But you... you made the humans like you _alone_! That's kind of a big deal considering they hate us because we started this war..."

Frisk gave a little laugh, imagining Papyrus shenanigans while trying to gain the humans' trust. Of course, if there was a monster that could make people like them, it had to be Papyrus.

The skeleton shifted to a more relaxed position.

"WELL, AFTER THAT THEY ALLOWED ME TO WALK AROUND! THEY WERE ALL REAL NICE PEOPLE – EVEN THE ONES WHO WERE THE MEANEST TO ME APOLOGIZED AND ALL! SO I'VE BEEN LIVING WITH THEM SINCE!" he continued. "MOST OF TIME IT WAS PRETTY PEACEFUL, BUT THE GROUP SUFFERED TWO ATTACKS WHILE I WAS THERE. THE FIRST ONE WAS FROM A GANG OF MONSTERS THAT TRIED TO DESTROY THE RESISTANCE GROUP... THAT WAS WHEN I LOST MY TOOTH!"

Papyrus pointed to the dark space where his missing tooth once was. It gave a comic feeling to the scene, but Frisk knew all too well how dangerous those attacks were.

"Did you battle?", asked the human.

"ME? OH, I DIDN'T GO IN ANY OFFENSIVE POSITION OR ANYTHING, BUT THE GROUP ASKED ME TO USE MY MAGIC TO RAISE THE DEFENSES ON THE HEADQUARTERS! YOU KNOW, BONE WALLS, THAT TYPE OF SIMPLE STUFF."

It was good to see the skeleton hadn't really changed in that aspect. Frisk felt a strange relief with that thought.

"THE SECOND ATTACK WAS FROM ANOTHER GROUP OF HUMANS..."

The information didn't pass unnoticed by MK.

"Humans?"

Papyrus' expression suddenly went darker.

"THAT'S RIGHT... IT'S CRAZY! BUT... THIS WAR HAS BEEN GOING FOR FAR TOO LONG. SUPPLIES GET SHORTER EACH DAY. SOMEDAY, HUMANS WOULD BEGIN TO TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER... STILL, IT IS A WEIRD THING TO SEE!"

Frisk shook his head.

"Unfortunately, humans wage wars against each other all the time, and for far less noble reasons than getting food and water."

MK and Papyrus glared at him with very confused looks. Of course – the thought of a race turning against its own was totally foreign to them. Monsters were far less numbered, and lived in much less space. They couldn't afford to turn against each other – that would be the same as doing self-genocide. Humans, on the other hand, existed in great numbers, and had much greater diversity of beliefs and interests. Conflicts have permeated human's history since the beginning of its existence.

"And how did you find us?", inquired MK, looking at Papyrus again.

The skeleton made a pensive expression, like he wasn't sure how to explain that.

"I'M... I'M NOT SURE, TO BE HONEST...", he said after a while. "BUT LAST WEEK... I WOKE UP FEELING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. RIGHT IN MY SOUL.", he put his hand over his chest. "LIKE A TICKLE, OR AN ITCH. AND IT TOLD ME... TOLD ME TO COME TO MT. EBOTT."

"It... _told_ you?", repeated MK, having trouble picturing that out.

"NOT LITERALLY! BUT IT WAS LIKE THERE WAS A LITTLE VOICE IN MY HEAD, THAT INSISTED THAT I SHOULD COME HERE! SO I TRAVELLED... TOOK ME A WEEK TO GET HERE BY FOOT!"

Papyrus was making weird gestures with his hands, as if trying to explain the "soul itch".

"AND... BOY, WAS I SURPRISED WHEN I SAW YOU IN THE CITY!", he said, smiling at Frisk. "I FOLLOWED YOU... AND FOR A MOMENT I DOUBTED IF I SHOULD SHOW UP. I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING ABANDONED YOU... BUT NOW, I'M GLAD YOU SPOTTED ME!"

"More like you gave yourself away...", commented MK with a smirk. "Are you _sure_ you didn't step on that stick on purpose?"

"W-WHAT!? NO!", exclaimed Papyrus. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER GIVE HIMSELF AWAY! NEVER! RIGHT, HUMAN?"

They looked expectantly at the human, and for a moment he was reminded of the good old times with Papyrus – but he also noticed something was changed forever within them. Frisk couldn't really put his finger on what it was – maybe it was the look in their eyes, or the way they were smiling. It showed they had matured, and that maybe they had hardened a little.

But they were still kind and companionable. They still _believed_. And for that, Frisk was glad.

"Right!", agreed Frisk, laughing.

The rest of the evening was spent with small talk and silly jokes – and Frisk enjoyed taking his mind out of things for once. However, it also reminded him of Sans – that was just the type of shared moment the short skeleton would have enjoyed. The human couldn't help but feel a little sad – and from the look in Papyrus' eyes, they felt the same way.

Eventually, when the cavern got dark enough, they went to sleep. They needed to rest – the following day would be a big one.

* * *

 _Everything was dark, except for the bed of golden flowers in front of him. He walked towards it. They were all really beautiful – one of them was even smiling kindly, and winked when he approached._

" _Why'd you have to SCREW IT UP?", it said._

* * *

During the last weeks, Frisk's dreams began to make even less sense than usual. He'd wake up with little more than the feeling they inspired on him. When the dream had been good, he'd wake up feeling well and rested. On the other hand, if it had been a nightmare, he'd feel like absolutely no time had passed from the time he closed his eyes to the time he opened them again.

And of course, when Frisk woke up that day, he felt more like the latter.

He stood up, scratching his eyes to take the sleep off them. Surprisingly, his body wasn't achy like it normally would after sleeping on such a hard surface, like that cavern's floor. He walked towards the entrance.

The storm had stopped, and the air was filled with a humid smell. It was quite sunny outside – not a single cloud in the sky, either –, and Frisk heard a bird chirping in the distance. He noticed it had been sometime since he had heard a sound like that. Had the circumstances been different, he could pretend they were just camping. Only without the marshmallows.

His sight landed on the soft, wet soil of the forest in the distance – right where the hard mountain ground began to end and the woods' ground began to appear. An idea formed in his mind, and it made his heart jump. He looked back to his backpack.

There was one last thing he needed to do before going to the Underground and resetting everything.

"GOOD MORNING, HUMAN!"

Papyrus had woken up, and his loud voice apparently woke a reluctant MK too, who in turn growled and shifted sides, trying to sleep again.

"Morning, Papyrus.", replied Frisk.

"Just five more minutes...", mumbled MK, groggy.

"WE DON'T HAVE ANY TIME TO WASTE, MK! C'MON, UP!"

After some more complaints, they finally managed to make the reptilian monster get up – and after eating their respective rations, they all got ready in no time. There was a different vibe surrounding the three – fear of the unknown, yes, but also determination to make things different. And hope.

They got out of the cavern – the shiny sunlight making them squeeze their eyes because of its clarity.

"SO, WHO'S READY FOR SOME MOUNTAIN CLIMBING?", asked Papyrus, sounding pumped.

Frisk looked to the ground, feeling a bit guilty. If he did what he wanted to do, that would make the cheerfulness in Papyrus go away, at least for some moments, and he didn't want to make the skeleton feel sad. However, he knew there was an unfinished business they all needed to take care of. They needed some closure.

"There's... just something I wanted to see, first.", said Frisk, looking at the other two.

MK looked surprised, but nodded. Papyrus kept smiling kindly, which killed Frisk a bit on the inside. Nevertheless, he led them to the margins of the mountain ground, where the forest surrounding it began to get more dense. He looked to the trees, trying to choose which one was the most beautiful for the occasion.

All the trees looked about the same, though, so he just went towards one that at least gave them a nice view of the mountain in front of them. He touched its wet trunk. It looked very sturdy – it surely wouldn't break out because of some storm, which was good.

"Uh... what are you doing, dude?", asked MK, curious.

Frisk didn't mean to, but he let out a sigh that inspired more sorrow than what he initially intended. He looked back at the two, and Papyrus suddenly became worried.

"WHAT HAPPENED, HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

He figured he must have let his expression show an underlying pain, which wasn't his intention. But now, there was no use in hiding.

"We need to say goodbye.", he said, his voice grave. "To Sans."

The effects of those words were fairly obvious. Papyrus flinched at the sentence. MK looked to the ground, suddenly saddened, before meeting the human's eyes once again, and Frisk felt they knew what he had meant.

"You're still carrying that bottle, right?", they asked.

Frisk nodded, somberly. The night the short skeleton died – turning into a pile of dust – the human had put some of it into a water bottle. He wasn't sure why he did it at the time, but now, it all made sense. He wanted to be able to honor their memory somehow – and by extension, to grant some peace over them all.

"I don't think sprinkling the dust around would be very appropriate, given the circumstances...", he began, stepping aside and looking to the spot of soil he had been standing on. "So I thought... when humans die, one of the things we can do is bury the body... it's kinda like a ceremony where we can say goodbye to our loved ones. I know it's sounds dumb, but I thought we could... um... 'bury' Sans here. It is a pretty place, after all... I think..."

It wasn't quite what Sans deserved, to be frank, but Frisk felt it would be the best place he'd find in the moment.

"THIS... IS REALLY THOUGHTFUL OF YOU, HUMAN..."

The skeleton was embracing himself, with an expression that was a mixture of sadness and relief. It was in that moment Frisk noticed that was the right thing to do.

"Let's cave a hole right here, then.", he said, taking out his backpack and putting it on the ground. "It doesn't have to be really big or deep, but let's do it."

And so, they began their work. They didn't have any caving tools with them, so Frisk and Papyrus used their hands to work on the soft soil – and MK helped them with his feet. The earth was wet, which made it harder to cave, but nobody complained. Soon enough, blisters began to appear on the human's hands, but he kept digging. It was worth it – for everything that Sans had done for them.

After some time, they got satisfied with their work. The hole wasn't particularly deep, and was slightly misshapen, but considering what they could do in the moment, it was probably the best they would manage. Frisk opened his backpack and picked up the bottle which contained Sans' dust.

It was a simple water bottle – and even nearly two months after their death, the dust was still as pure and smooth as it was back then. Maybe it was a property of monster's dust, or maybe it was just well conserved in the bottle. It didn't matter.

He opened the bottle and solemnly held it with his arm stretched over the hole. Then, he turned it upside down, and they all watched its contents fall. He shook it to make whatever of dust was stuck there to fall, too. He then pulled the bottle back, and looked at it for a while.

" _'water' ya keeping this for?"_

Sure, what the hell. He tossed the bottle in the hole, too. It landed next to the dust.

The three stood there for a moment, surrounding the hole, looking at the dust inside it. Frisk had seen his fair share of death throughout his young life, but never once had he been to a burial. He felt funny. Like he was much more self-aware of that hole he had been carrying in his chest ever since the short skeleton had passed away.

"I think it would be nice if... you know, we said some words.", stated Frisk, his voice failing towards the end. He cleared his throat.

He looked to Papyrus, but they didn't seem to be willing to start talking any time soon. Frisk himself wanted to say something – there was so much to be said – but the words seemed to get lost on their way from his brain to his mouth. Once again, silence fell upon them.

"Ugh, whatever. I'll do it.", bursted MK, standing more upright for a moment. "So, uh... hey Sans... ok, that was dumb."

Frisk looked at MK, encouraging them to continue. They were already doing better than he would, after all.

"I... um... I know we didn't start really well.", proceeded MK, a bit insecure. "I almost killed your brother by accident, and you tried to, uh, kill me. It took us a while, but we managed to get over that, and, who'd have known, we became good friends. I... I can't thank you enough, Sans. You saved my life, and that's the only reason I'm here instead of you. I wish you... that you could still be here. We could have been great friends, I'm sure of it. I never really got you, but I always knew, deep inside, you had a good heart. I... uh, we... we miss you, man."

It was in that moment that Frisk felt a strong squeeze in his heart, and had to fight back to hold his tears. It was only then he realized that Sans' death was the real deal. They weren't coming back.

"Thanks, Sans.", he said, his voice trembling. "You'll live on in our memories."

He wished he could say more, but MK had already said everything he would, so that would be pointless.

"I MISS YOU, BROTHER...", said Papyrus, tears streaming down his face. "THANK YOU... FOR EVERYTHING. I'LL NEVER FORGET ALL THE THINGS YOU DID FOR ME."

After that, they stood there for a little while, each one deep in their own thoughts. Frisk didn't remember how much losing Sans had hurt – but finally being able to say a proper goodbye felt like the first step for overcoming it. He would always miss them – but hopefully, when he remembered them, he would smile with their memory instead of feeling hurt. That was what Sans would have liked – he was sure of it.

They put the earth back on its place – covering the dust and the bottle. Not surprisingly, it was a lot easier than making the hole. To complete it, just when Frisk was thinking on what he could use to mark the spot, Papyrus conjured two bones from the earth, making it stand over the pit in a cross-like formation.

It was a nice way to mark the place, although Frisk wasn't sure if it would last for long. But he didn't tell that to Papyrus – if they felt that was okay, on what terms could the human criticize it? He put the hand on their shoulder, and Papyrus put their hand over his, smiling sadly.

They would be okay – they all would be okay, in the future.

"C'mon.", said Frisk, wearing his backpack. "We have a mountain to climb."

* * *

Mt. Ebott wasn't a particularly difficult mountain to climb – there was a path people could walk on most of the way. If not for the legends surrounding it, or the locals that warned tourists not to approach it, it would have been a famous touristic spot.

The sun shone above their heads – but the heat didn't bother anyone because, although the day was sunny, the temperature was quite cold. Still, as they kept walking, Frisk felt his skin burning. Sunburns had been quite a common problem for him during summer – he didn't expect to have to face it again with winter practically knocking on the door.

The cavern that lead to the entrance of the Underground, however, wasn't in such an accessible way. If Frisk remembered right, it required climbing quite a tricky wall. Once they reached there, Papyrus and he engaged in climbing said wall. The skeleton did so with ease – they were quite athletic, after all. Frisk had way more trouble doing so. How did his ten year old self managed to do it six years earlier?

Nevertheless, he eventually did it. Once up there, Papyrus used his blue magic to carry MK towards them. After the three were there, safe and sound, they decided to take a quick break before continuing.

They were quite up in the mountain. The cold wind blew stronger, and Frisk's nose quickly became desensitized. They weren't nowhere near the top – the entrance to the Underground wasn't there, anyway –, so the human was impressed with how cold it felt to be up there.

And then...

"This is it.", said Frisk.

They were in front of a cavern's entrance, somewhere nearby the middle of the mountain. Frisk was sure that was it, even though there was no visible indication that was the place they were looking for, he felt it. That was the same cavern he entered in a burst of curiosity six years before. The one that changed his life forever.

The inside of the cave was very dark, so the human opened his backpack to fetch the flashlight. He didn't want to be tripping on vines to literally fall to the Underground. Again.

"' _Those who climb the mountain never return.'_ ", quoted MK, looking up. "Frisk... why did you climb this mountain in the first place, six years ago?"

The human wore his backpack again, thinking about the question.

"I guess I wanted to challenge the mountain.", he replied, simplistically. "I didn't believe the warnings that people made back in town, that it was dangerous, or the legends about monsters. I... wanted to go and come back, to prove everybody was wrong."

But now that he thought about it, he felt that was only _half_ of the story. He couldn't quite remember what his younger self was thinking that fateful day when he decided to climb Mt. Ebott, but he remembered feeling really bad. Maybe he actually wanted to go there and get lost forever? The thought made Frisk shiver.

Giving decisive steps, he entered the cave with the flashlight on, being followed closely by MK and Papyrus. A hot, humid wind blew on his face as he did so, and the air was filled with moisture. It smelled like something old – and yet, it also felt so familiar.

That was definitely the cave he had been looking for.

The cavern was rather extensive, too – and that was the selling point that made him want to explore it when he was younger. As the trio walked, no one exchanged a word, so the only sound was from the footsteps echoing on the walls. And as they approached their destination, Frisk's heart began to beat faster – and almost in a delirious way, he thought he could hear its beatings echoing alongside their footsteps.

With a weird, sudden gut feeling, he focused the flashlight beam on the ground.

"Take care not to trip on this vine here.", he said.

Frisk walked around it, and no more than some steps further, he came into a halt. He pointed the flashlight down... but couldn't see the floor anymore.

They had reached a place that looked like some sort of chamber – one that had a gigantic hole in the middle, both in depth and circumference. With the faint flashlight's beam, Frisk could see small roots and flowers that managed to grow in the dark surrounding it.

"Well, here it is...", he mumbled, looking marveled at the pit. "The entrance to the Underground."

His voice echoed for a while before everything went silent again. There was a weird noise coming from within the hole – almost like it was breathing, alive.

"WOWIE... IT IS A PRETTY GREAT FALL...", said Papyrus, his voice tense. "HOW DID YOU SURVIVE, HUMAN?"

"There's a bed of flowers on the bottom, so it's a soft landing.", explained Frisk, remembering his first moments on the Underground – of how amazed he was from still being alive after falling.

MK took a peek, looking over the human's shoulder.

"We can't even see the ground from here...", he said, and from his voice it was clear he was afraid of going in there.

Frisk himself had to admit he was a bit anxious around the idea of jumping down that hole. Maybe tripping on that vine would have been a better idea. He wouldn't even have noticed he fell.

"We didn't come all the way here just to give up and walk away, did we?", stated the human, trying to inspire confidence. "I'll go first."

He took a careful glance down the pit. MK was right – they couldn't even see the bottom from there. As he stared the infinite darkness below, he felt it staring back at him – right into the deepest part of his soul, from his worst fears to his most desperate hopes.

"How do you know the bed of flowers is still there?", asked MK, voicing a reasonable fear.

"I don't."

"Oh."

On the inside, Frisk felt things would be different from that point on. Up until reaching Mt. Ebott, the dangers he faced had been very realistic – monsters and humans had tried to hurt and even kill him, either on purpose or in assumed self-defense. He _knew_ what he was up against. The Underground was supposed to be empty... but he couldn't shake the feeling there was a different type of threat down there – much less recognizable... and much more menacing. He took a deep breath, getting ready.

"Only one way to find out..."

He jumped, and the darkness surrounded him, embracing the human in its cold arms.

* * *

 _ACT I END_


	16. Once Again

_Act II_

* * *

 _I sit beside the fire and think_

 _Of people long ago_

 _And people that will see a world_

 _That I shall never know_

– J.R.R Tolkien, _The Fellowship of the Ring_

* * *

The feeling of free-falling was almost blissful.

Of course, the first second is nothing less than terrifying. The uncertainty of what's waiting at the bottom – whether the bed of flowers is still there or not – is a contributing factor for this. However, after that, the body is taken by a happy sensation of lightness, almost like it's flying. It feels, for a brief moment, that absolutely everything is possible.

And then, they hit the ground.

When Frisk opened his eyes, he wasn't sure if he had passed out, or how much time had passed since the moment he hit the ground. Still, he was alive, and that was a great thing.

He was laid on a soft surface – the bed of golden flowers, he was certain of it. He slowly sat, looking at his surroundings. He was in a small chamber of sorts, which was bathed by a faint blue light that came from above.

He then noticed he had landed exactly at the center of the bed of flowers – the only part where the flowers were still growing strong. The flowers around it had all withered – its golden color reduced to a putrid brown, smelling nauseatingly sweet. The human slowly stood up, thinking on how grim the situation was. Golden flowers could withstand all sorts of shortcomings, which meant that if they had withered, they had been left alone for quite some time.

He walked around for a bit, trying to recognize anything that could be useful, when a little light began flickering near him. He took a while to realize it was the flashlight he was holding when he jumped – and he was glad it had survived the fall. He'd need it. He picked it up and shook it a few times until the beam stabilized.

Then, he began to hear a sound coming from above. Weak at first, but it quickly grew in intensity, until Frisk got what it was – screaming. And very high-pitched at that.

With a loud thud, MK fell with their face flat on the center of the bed of flowers. Frisk jumped on the spot when that happened, and felt sick.

Their body was limp and they were not moving.

The human felt all the air leave his lungs. The monster had fallen in a really bad position – what if they had they broken their neck? With an increasing panicking sensation, he approached them. The temperature of the cave felt like it went down several degrees.

Suddenly, MK moved, kicking his legs on the ground and sitting up, strangely agitated.

"I'm okay!", he yelled. "I'm okay!", he repeated once more, looking at Frisk.

The monster seemed to be having a hard time believing he was alright – and Frisk breathed relieved. He put his hand on his own chest, feeling the heartbeats getting to its normal frequency as he calmed down.

He helped MK stand up on their own feet, and they walked away from the bed of flowers.

"Where are we?", asked MK, his voice echoing on the cave.

Frisk shone the light above them, looking at the hole. Just as from above they couldn't see the ground, they also couldn't see the ceiling from there – the flashlight's beam didn't reach that long. It made him wonder how long the fall actually was.

"The entrance of the Ruins.", explained Frisk, directing the beam to the corridor in front of him. "There's an exit up ahe-"

"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Both Frisk and MK jumped on their spots as that screaming sound quickly filled the place – before the owner of that loud, piercing voice, fell to the bed of flowers with a loud thud, too.

"OWWW...", they groaned, standing on their fours. Frisk went there to help the skeleton stand up.

"Are you alright?", he asked, trying to see if Papyrus was wounded somewhere.

"I'M... FINE...", they replied, shaking their head to clear their thoughts. "JUST... _WOW_... HOW ARE WE EVEN ALIVE?"

Frisk looked up once more. As soon as Papyrus' voice stopped echoing, the human could hear that weird, breathing noise the hole above their heads made.

MK walked towards them, looking to the ground with an intrigued expression. Frisk immediately knew they noticed the withered golden flowers around the bed's center.

"Why are the flowers only alive at the center?", they asked, more to themselves than to the others.

Papyrus scratched his the back of his head (or skull?), looking around in an attempt to make sense of what the reptilian monster had said.

"PERHAPS SOMEONE CAST A MAGIC SPELL HERE AT THE CENTER?"

"But then why _only_ at the center?", pointed MK, kicking a withered flower, which turned to dust at his touch. "Why not on all flowers here?"

There was an awkward silence – it was clear Papyrus couldn't think of an explanation for that.

"UGH, YOU ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS!", he objected, exasperated.

Frisk put his hand on his forehead – he could feel it throbbing. He got the odd feeling he once _knew_ the reason the flowers on the center had not withered – and it was much more sinister than the hypothesis Papyrus had raised. However, the answer had been lost in a previous timeline, leaving Frisk with little more than the sensation he once knew the answer, rather than having the actual explanation itself.

"Great.", mumbled MK. "We're not even five minutes in the Underground and nothing is making any sense."

Frisk looked up, pulled away from his thoughts, and focused the flashlight's beam back to the corridor in front of them.

"Let's keep pressing forward, then.", he said, beginning to walk. He felt the two monsters exchanging looks before following him.

It wasn't particularly difficult to walk on the cave system of the Ruins – if anything, it felt really similar to what Frisk remembered from six years prior. However, this time everything was dark – which made the flashlight an absolutely necessary tool. It also felt colder now – the human was shivering under his coat. When he was ten, he was wearing nothing but that old striped t-shirt and some shorts – and he remembered being fine with that in that first part of the Underground.

They reached another chamber, and something got caught by Frisk's flashlight that made him stop in his tracks, his blood running cold.

In the distance, he could see two sets of stairs – both of them leading to a large gateway that served as the official Ruins' entrance. If memory served the human right, they used to be really well kept, but in the moment they were mostly crumbled, barely usable for them to access the gateway. However, it wasn't that what made him stop – it was the patch of soil in front of it, the one that had several withered golden flowers forming a perfect circle, as if surrounding something that would normally be found in the middle.

Despite that, the center was empty.

" _Howdy!_ ", a voice echoed in Frisk's head.

The human waited for a few moments, almost expecting _it_ to show up. He knew that was impossible – after all, he had killed _it_ all those years ago – but there was something in that patch of soil in front of him that still made him nervous.

"Uh... you okay, dude?", asked MK.

Frisk quickly averted his eyes from the patch of soil, choosing to focus the flashlight's beam on the stairs ahead. He wondered if the reptilian monster noticed what he had been staring.

"I-it's nothing.", said Frisk, failing to avoid his voice to stutter. "Let's go."

The trio began to walk once again – Frisk making sure they would keep their distance from that patch of soil. As they walked upstairs, a terrifying thought crossed the human's head: if he managed to reset, _it_ would be back, too. He'd have to face _it_ again – and he was sure _it_ wouldn't be happy for having being dead for six whole years.

Or would it?

* * *

 _Frisk had always imagined that, if monsters existed, they'd live in dark, damp environments, with hazards everywhere so that their prey would be easily caught before they met their unescapable demise._

 _The Underground – at least up until now – was nothing like that. He was in a weird, large cave, with purple walls that emitted a glowing light. That, allied with the torches, made the place really well lit. Somehow, vines had managed to survive there, and the whole place was well kept, even if a bit rough around the edges. What impressed him most was the air – it felt strangely fresh, even though he was deep inside Mt. Ebott._

 _As he saw the frog-like creature hopping away from him, he wondered once again if he wasn't dreaming._

" _Here, my child.", called Toriel, a bit up ahead. "Let's see if you can solve this puzzle on your own!"_

 _Yes, the puzzles. Those were the closest things from the "traps" from Frisk's imagination, and yet, they were nothing comparable to it. Up until that moment, they had been really easy (even in the case Toriel wouldn't be there "helping" him), but kind of fun, too. There was something about pressing switches to open doors that just made him giggle._

 _However, as he got next to Toriel and took a look at the platform in front of him, he could tell that would be a little more difficult. The path ahead of him was full of spikes – he needed to walk in a certain way so that the spikes would lower and he could progress, but how? He remembered reading a sign a little back, something about mirrors..._

 _Oh, he got it. The corridor he just went was highlighted on the ground..._

" _Actually...", slowly said Toriel, looking suspiciously at the spikes. "On second thought, this might be too dangerous for someone as small as you. Here, let me do this."_

 _Frisk took a good look at a set of spikes right in front of him. Its points were round – so they would hardly be any danger, but he decided to take the hand Toriel was offering him anyway. Her fur felt soft and warm on his fingers._

 _As she led the way, the human remembered it had been sometime since he had held the hand of an adult like that. It gave him a weird sensation – comforting, because he felt there was someone there he could rely on, but also somewhat distressing. Like something bad was about to happen._

 _He held her hand harder._

* * *

"Okay... okay.", said MK, looking to the switches on the ground around them. "Now, Papyrus, jump to the switch northwest!"

Papyrus looked around, confused.

"WHICH NORTHWEST? _MY_ NORTHWEST OR _YOUR_ NORTHWEST?"

MK clicked his tongue, impatient.

"Your northwest."

The skeleton readied himself for the jump.

"ALRIGHT... NOW, BEHOLD THE AMAZING LEAP FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Frisk looked as Papyrus jumped from one switch to another (with a sounding " _NYAAH_ ", of course). A tension-filled second passed in which that happened, and when the skeleton pressed the new switch, it clicked, and nothing else happened. The human breathed, relieved.

Apparently, puzzles remained a common thing in the Underground. However, they turned way more deadly since Frisk left the place, and they discovered that the hard way when Papyrus stepped on a fake floor and it made a giant boulder come rolling in their direction. They escaped unscratched, and with the knowledge there were puzzles and traps all around them, they needed to proceed with more caution. MK was familiar with those puzzles, but was genuinely surprised they still worked. Fortunately, the reptilian monster, being a former member of the Royal Guard, still remembered the solutions, and soon became a living "walkthrough".

In the moment, the three found themselves in some sort of giant board, with various switches on the ground, which needed to be pressed in a certain order so that the door ahead would be opened and the trap in the room deactivated. Each one of them was currently standing at different switches on the board, and MK was the one telling them what to do.

"Right... Frisk, your turn now.", called MK. "The switch on your left, jump to it!"

The human looked to the switch the monster indicated, and felt a bit faint. It was kind of far, and he knew there wouldn't be second chances if he miscalculated the jump.

"Uh... what did you say happened if we missed a jump or pressed the wrong switch?", inquired Frisk.

"Oh, no big deal.", replied MK, his voice oddly casual. "You know, just some deadly spikes come from the walls, the ceiling and the floor and we die a very slow and painful death."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the trio. The human gulped, his eyes fixed on the switch up ahead. Papyrus shifted nervously on his spot.

"THAT SOUNDS UNPLEASANT!"

"Yes, _very_ unpleasant.", confirmed MK, somberly. "C'mon Frisk, I know you can do it!"

Hearing the yellow monster saying that apparently made Papyrus switch into "believing mode".

"YES, HUMAN! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

Frisk took a deep breath, not averting his eyes from the switch. He flexed his legs a little to gain some boost, and jumped. With his heart almost coming out from his mouth, he closed his eyes as he felt himself getting closer to the ground.

 _Click_.

A noise was heard in the distance, and Frisk opened his eyes again. The door at the end of the room slowly opened, allowing them to proceed. He allowed himself to jump in the spot, laughing out of joy. Papyrus happily clapped, laughing as well.

"WE DID IT!", exclaimed the skeleton.

"Good one, guys!", said Frisk, walking to the center of the board, where MK was. Papyrus soon joined them.

The reptilian monster, however, still had a serious expression.

"We still need to cross the rest of the Ruins, you know...", he said, dryly.

"YES, BUT EVERY VICTORY IS A VICTORY!", replied Papyrus, patting MK on the back. "BESIDES, YOU'RE DOING GREAT BEING OUR GUIDE, MK! HOW DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE SOLUTIONS?"

The yellow monster allowed himself to give a little smile with the compliment, and looked to the skeleton.

"Every Royal Guard member needed to know the solutions by heart after Undyne became the empress.", explained MK. "Weren't you in the Royal Guard, too?"

Yes, that's right... if Frisk remembered correctly, Papyrus managed to enter the Royal Guard (on the "most important royal position", no less) shortly after the human left the Underground. The skeleton looked to the ground, his eyes filled with a sudden sadness.

"I... I QUIT.", he explained, simplistically.

Frisk raised his eyebrows, but he felt he wasn't really impressed. True, when he met Papyrus, their dream was to become a member of the Royal Guard, so it was naturally strange for them to quit it after finally reaching their goal. Still, he wondered what had really changed in the Underground during the last six years, which made him think if their quitting was because they had changed, or because the Royal Guard had become something else – something Papyrus didn't agree with.

However, there was no use in dwelling in the past – they needed to keep going.

"C'mon.", said Frisk, walking towards the door. "We still have a long way to go."

The other two walked next to him, and began making their way through the Ruins once more in silence. The walls still glowed that faint purple light – but with no torches, the place was a lot more dark. Frisk noticed – not without a slight feeling on sadness in his heart – that the Underground was resembling a lot more the "monster's cave" from Frisk's imagination before he fell to that place six years before. The Ruins, despite their name, used to be lively and inviting. It wasn't the case anymore.

After taking a very sharp turn, something inside the human told him to stop. He ceased to walk – surveying the area with the flashlight. MK and Papyrus stopped, looking curiously at him.

"HUMAN? WHY DID YOU STOP?", asked the skeleton.

"I... think I remember this tunnel.", replied Frisk, focusing the beam on the ground.

The tunnel looked rather normal, but he couldn't shake the feeling there was something more than what appeared. Feeling a creeping type of anxiety installing in his heart, he took some careful steps forward – the flashlight still focused on the ground.

There it was.

Frisk could barely see it, but if he looked hard enough, he could see faint cracks on the ground – and he remembered where he was. Six years before, he had walked on that very same tunnel, that had those very same cracks on that very same ground – though, to be honest, said cracks were way more visible back then. Now, they were faded away.

Or maybe someone had tried to conceal them.

He decided to test it – putting the tip of his shoe on the cracked floor. His foot barely touched the floor when it gave away with a crumbling sound, forming a small, dark hole around where he had stepped. MK, who watched the whole scene, gasped in surprise.

"Holy hell!", he exclaimed. "I forgot those...", he added, ashamed.

"I guess we'll have to jump across...", commented the human, trying to see with the flashlight were the cracked floor ended.

That was something difficult to do – but from memory, Frisk remembered that specific hole wasn't very big, so they could leap to the other side unharmed.

"Those cracked floors used to be everywhere in the Ruins when I fell six years ago.", said Frisk, casually. "There was always a bed of flowers on the bottom..."

In all honesty, what he wanted with that comment was to lighten up the mood – which was necessary since all three of them were thinking what would have happened if Frisk had _not_ had that gut feeling telling him to stop. But of course MK shook his head, negatively.

"There are no flowers on the bottom anymore.", he said, darkly. "Only very sharp spikes."

Frisk snorted, exasperated.

"What's up with the spikes everywhere, now!?"

"Hey dude, don't look at me like that, it's not like _I_ have designed the puzzles and traps here!", said MK, defensively. "Who knows? Maybe Undyne really likes spikes or something."

"OH, SHE DOES!", affirmed Papyrus, happily. "SHE USED TO SHOW ME ALL HER IDEAS TO PUT SPIKES ON THE PUZZLES, AND THEY REALLY MADE THEM LOOK EVEN COOLER! I JUST WISH THEY WEREN'T SO... UH... DEADLY?"

The skeleton was giving them a sorry smile – like he was realizing he should have noticed adding spikes on the puzzles wasn't such a good idea, after all.

There was a moment in which the three of them just stared at the cracked floor – each of them just as unwilling to jump across it as the other.

"FINE! I'LL GO FIRST!", said Papyrus, trying to inspire courage. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALREADY PROVED HE CAN MAKE A GREAT JUMP, ANYWAY! NYEH HEH HEH!"

For the first time, Frisk felt Papyrus wasn't saying that to brag about himself to others, but to actually make the fear he was feeling go away. The human watched expectantly as he ran towards the floor, jumping just before it... and falling safely to the other side. About a second later, in which the fact he was still alive and well was fully processed, he raised his arms in a display of victory.

"NYEH HEH HEH! I DID IT!", he said, turning around to face the other two from across the cracked floor. "C'MON GUYS, IT'S NOT REALLY DIFFICULT! YOU CAN DO IT!"

Papyrus crossing the obstacle made Frisk and MK slightly more confident. The latter took some steps back, preparing for a jump.

"C'mon, MK, you got this!", the reptilian monster mumbled to himself as he ran and jumped, also falling safely on the other side. Papyrus helped him to stand.

"YOUR TURN, HUMAN!"

Frisk retreated some steps, putting the flashlight in his pocket so it wouldn't fall, and took a deep breath. He could do it – he had done it before, hadn't he? And he didn't come so far just to die in some random trap in the Ruins – no, he had to keep going.

He was filled with determination.

Unfortunately, determination alone doesn't make anyone invulnerable to miscalculated jumps. That was exactly what happened – the human jumped a bit too early, and when he fell, the floor beneath him crumbled with his weight. Although it probably happened really quick, Frisk felt time passing slowly, watching Papyrus and MK's shocked expressions pass by, and then the darkness of the pit he was falling into.

They say the amount of things one can think of while falling to their death is amazing, but Frisk could only think about how stupid his demise was going to be. It was so dumb it was almost laughable.

"GOT YOU!"

Suddenly, the human stopped falling as Papyrus grabbed him by his wrist. He looked up and managed to make the skeleton's relieved expression with the faint purple light from the place – although the pit beneath the tunnel's ground was very dark. After some dreadful seconds, they pulled him up, and he fell with his back – scared for life, but safe and sound nonetheless.

Some time passed – enough so that Frisk's heart could go back to its normal place (his chest, not his throat) – and the human finally sat on the ground, a little shaky, but fine. He glanced a look to the other two, who were staring at him with a mixture of relief and concern.

"Screw you, guys.", he said, his voice hoarse. "That wasn't even _close_ to easy."

"UUH... ARE YOU OKAY?"

Papyrus sounded so earnest that any grumpiness Frisk could keep instantly melted away – and he laughed. Laughed at the situation he had just faced, and his own stupidity before it. The skeleton and the reptilian monster exchanged intrigued looks, laughing nervously as well, as the human stood up, facing the rest of the tunnel after the cracked floor.

"Let's go.", he said, his voice surprisingly firm. "The next puzzles won't solve themselves."

* * *

 _The Underground was full of surprises, indeed. He never expected for plants and vines to grow down there – and yet, the Ruins were overflowing with them. It was surreal, and oddly inspiring, too._

 _However, when Frisk found that dark, leafless tree, he couldn't help but feel a bit sad on the inside. It reminded him of the couple of monsters that began picking on him back there, and how he..._

 _He shivered. He didn't want to think about that._

 _Suddenly, a lonely leaf sprouted from the treetop – initially green, but quickly turning into a sickly yellow, then orange – until it finally detached from the tree and fell to the ground, joining the other leaves that had met the same fate before. It made Frisk feel strangely desolated, reminding him the Underground was a different world from his – not meant for him to stay._

" _...took way longer than I thought it would...", Frisk heard a familiar voice approaching._

 _Toriel came from behind the tree, but she didn't notice him immediately, as she was too busy fumbling with her cellphone. He thought about calling her attention, but something held him back – that same sensation something was about to go wrong that he felt earlier._

 _The goat monster then put the phone on her ear – and not a second later the cell phone she gave the human began vibrating and playing that basic, default calling tune. He picked it up, a bit astonished, and she finally noticed him – her expression becoming shocked and confused for a moment before she put the phone down and rushed to his direction, kneeling in front of him so they would be eye to eye._

" _My child, what are you doing here?", she asked, clearly worried. "How did you find me? Are you hurt?"_

 _Frisk was mostly intact – he just made a small bruise on his knee when he fell in a fake-ground trap earlier, but he was fine. Of course Toriel noticed it, though, and the human felt uncomfortable – he wasn't used to that kind of attention._

" _I'm so irresponsible!", she reprehended herself, clapping her hands. "I shouldn't have left you alone to try and surprise you..."_

 _She separated her hands, which began glowing a warm, pink light. She approached it from the bruise, and Frisk's whole body was filled with a soothing, relaxing feeling. But then, his mind picked up on what she had just said. Surprise him?_

 _He must have made a weird face, because she looked into his eyes and giggled._

" _Oh, I guess it's no use trying to hide it from you!", she said, standing up again. Frisk's knee was fully healed, and was even in a better state than it was before he bruised it. "Come inside, my child!"_

 _She offered her hand again, and the human hesitated for a second before grabbing it. She led them to a simple, yet cozy-looking house just behind the leafless tree. Was that her home?_

 _Frisk was definitely not used to that kind of attention._

* * *

The human stood in front of the dark, lifeless house at the end of the Ruins. He knew he needed to enter it if he wanted to get out of there and reach Snowdin, but suddenly he felt like his feet were made of iron, refusing to leave the spot.

MK and Papyrus stood close to him, both looking extremely uncomfortable. They knew what had happened there six years before, of course. They knew the terrible thing he had done back then.

"UM... ISN'T THERE, UH... ANOTHER WAY TO LEAVE THE RUINS?", hesitantly asked Papyrus.

Frisk shook his head – half-decisive, half-desolated.

"The only way out of the Ruins at the basement of... _her_ home.", he replied.

They kept in silence for a while. Neither of them knew exactly what to do.

"Undyne has kept the house untouched.", stated MK. "In respect of her memory."

"That's... nice.", commented Frisk, feeling his throat dry.

He could feel MK's and Papyrus' stares on him, and it made him want to sit down and cry right there. But he couldn't do that – he needed to be strong. He needed to keep going.

"We don't have to do this now, you know...", said MK, empathic. "We can wait a little until you feel... ready."

"YES, THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN!" agreed Papyrus. "NO NEED TO PUSH YOURSELF TOO HARD!"

It was tempting – Frisk had to admit that much. But there was something scary about waiting, too. He didn't want those dark, dangerous thoughts to cross his mind while he sat and waited to feel better. So he just shook his head, determined.

"No. We need to keep moving."

Neither MK nor Papyrus said anything, but Frisk could feel they thought he was pushing himself beyond his limits by forcing himself to enter Toriel's house in the state he was. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to let that stop him.

With a shaky sigh, he glanced behind his shoulder – looking at the form of the dark tree that was there. Once upon a time, every leaf it grew immediately fell off, making the ground around it an ever growing pile of leaves. However, as he stepped inside the house, MK would tell him the tree had not grown a single leaf in six years.

* * *

 _As soon as the door of the Ruins closed behind him, Frisk wondered if his desire to leave the Underground was actually rational. The place was freezing – the ground, against all logical explanations, was covered in thin snow._

 _On the positive side, the cold temperature made him get out from his daze. He was feeling sad, scared and helpless – the last moments still confused in his mind. Toriel falling. That freakish flower teasing him over it. He was tired of all that – he wanted to get out of that place, he wanted to go back to the surface and, as crazy as it sounded, he wanted to go back to the orphanage. Not even there he felt so miserable._

 _Embracing himself in a futile attempt to remain warm, the human began walking the only path he could – a straight trail in between the woods. The trees there were really high, and Frisk once again wondered how they managed to grow inside the mountain._

 _Suddenly, he felt all the hair on the back of his head standing up – a weird, creeping feeling he wasn't used to, like he was being followed. He quickly looked back._

 _There was nothing to be seen._

 _Hesitantly, he began walking forward again, trying to shrug off the feeling he just had as just his imagination playing tricks on him. He was very rattled from the previous events, so of course he'd feel some sort of anxiety. Yes, that made sense._

 _He heard the noise of a stick breaking behind him._

 _He turned around completely. There was definitely someone there, trying to creep up on him. He shivered, fully aware it wasn't because of the cold. And then..._

" _human.", called a very deep voice from just behind Frisk. He froze in fear. "don't you know how to greet a new pal?"_

 _The human's first instinct was to call for help – but then, who would help him? The only being in the Underground that could have come to his aid wasn't around anymore. He thought about running, but his legs were stiff and refused to move. Running out of options, he just kept there, feeling the panic slowly taking control while he could do nothing about it._

" _turn around.", commanded the voice. "and shake my hand."_

* * *

The faint light from the outside poured through cracks in the mountain, making the flashlight unnecessary, so Frisk turned it off. He needed to save the batteries, after all. He rubbed his hands close to his face, trying to warm himself a little. That place was still as cold as he remembered, and he was with more clothes on than he had been the previous time.

The trio stood before a sign – old and torn up in various places; most of its writing covered by frost. But Frisk could still read what it said.

 _Welcome to Snowdin_.

Six years prior, Snowdin Town was the happiest, coziest-looking town in the Underground, despite the cold and the snow. There were colorful lights everywhere, its inhabitants were nice and kind, and the places – from Bonnie's shop to Sans and Papyrus' house – were all lit up, inviting travelers to go inside and have a nice time with the locals.

But everything changed, and Frisk could barely believe he was in that very same town.

There were no lights. There were no people. The constant chatter from the kids playing in the snow was gone, leaving only an empty silence in its place. In a sense, it was similar to the many other ghost towns he had visited during the past months, but there was something about Snowdin that made it feel like a different kind of desolation. Perhaps it was because he knew that, while in the towns of the surface people fled in an attempt to survive, in Snowdin the monsters that lived there – willingly or not – left to _start_ that war. The war to take the surface back.

"Snowdin has seen better days...", said MK, his voice low, looking at Berna's Inn with a deep sadness. He then looked to the human, who in turn nodded, understanding. Months prior, Frisk's group had met Berna, her sister and her child hiding from the war inside a cabin in the woods. They got separated after some Royal Guard soldiers attacked the place, and the human had not heard of them since then.

The three of them walked across town in silence. Frisk noticed the pine tree in the center had been removed – he wondered when and why they had done it.

When they passed in front of what seemed a vacant house, Frisk couldn't resist his curiosity and stopped, looking. Its windows were broken and dirty, and it seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time – and he didn't remember from memory seeing any place like that the first time he visited Snowdin. He approached from a window, trying to peek inside, but the place was completely empty.

He then took some steps back, glancing a look to the neighboring places. A bit further by its left was the library (it's sign now spelling the word correctly, which somewhat drained it from its charm), and further ahead by its right was Sans and Papyrus' house. Which meant that place was...

"Is _this_ Grillby's?", asked Frisk to Papyrus, having a hard time believing that wrecked establishment was actually the famous bar of town.

Papyrus scratched his neck bone, looking sad.

"IT WAS.", he confirmed. "BUT IT'S BEEN CLOSED FOR YEARS, NOW."

"What happened?"

"THE PATRON, GRILLBY, ALWAYS SAID WAGING WAR AGAINST HUMANITY WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA.", explained Papyrus. "BUT WHEN PEOPLE REALLY STARTED HATING HUMANS, THEY BEGAN TO WRECK THE PLACE AND THREATEN THE REGULARS. SOON, HE COULDN'T AFFORD TO KEEP THE PLACE GOING, AND SHUT IT DOWN. I REMEMBER SANS GOT REALLY UPSET WHEN THAT HAPPENED."

Frisk looked to the ground, feeling bad. During the previous six years, the Underground became a totally different place – more intolerant, more violent. In his mind, that was no better than the surface above. Perhaps the monsters fighting so fiercely for the surface was only fit, given the circumstances.

"And what happened to Grillby?", he asked.

Papyrus' expression got darker.

"I DON'T KNOW. HE DISAPPEARED SOON AFTER HE CLOSED THE BAR."

Frisk gulped. The ones who disappear under those circumstances usually don't find a happy ending.

MK seemed to notice the atmosphere there wasn't very nice, so he intervened.

"Hey, it's no use thinking about these things. We have to keep going, right?"

He looked to Frisk when he said that, and the human nodded nervously.

"Right."

Feeling he was running away from the consequences of his actions, he reluctantly began walking next to Papyrus and MK. The snow under their feet was soft and clean, and their footsteps sounded muffled over it. As they proceeded, the air somehow got chillier, making Frisk recoil into his coat, though that didn't stop his face from feeling numb.

Papyrus was the one who stopped in front of the house by the end of town. Frisk and MK proceeded a little further before noticing the skeleton wasn't walking alongside them, but staring intensively at the house. The human and the yellow monster got back, a bit insecure.

"I MISS... THIS HOME."

They looked to the ground with a bittersweet expression. Frisk wished he could say something, but nothing seemed appropriate.

"HEY, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I FEEL PRETTY BEAT!", said Papyrus, suddenly. "HOW ABOUT WE SPEND THE NIGHT HERE?"

That was something neither Frisk nor MK were expecting. The two looked at each other, neither sure of what to reply, let alone do. It was true – after climbing the mountain and walking from the beginning of the Ruins until almost the entrance of Waterfall, the human himself was feeling very tired, so maybe a rest wouldn't do him bad. But doing that in Papyrus' former home? For some reason, that felt inappropriate – disrespectful, even.

"Uh, you sure about that?", asked MK, breaking the awkward silence that fell upon the three. "We could rest in the Inn instead."

Papyrus shook his head decisively.

"NO! I... THIS HOUSE IS JUST REALLY SPECIAL FOR ME, OKAY?", stated Papyrus. "I WANTED TO SPEND JUST ONE LAST NIGHT HERE BEFORE THE... THE RESET THING."

It was a reasonable thing to want, but Frisk wasn't sure that was really healthy for Papyrus. For obvious reasons, that place was filled with memories of them and Sans, and the human didn't want anyone to get sad or demotivated when that could be avoided.

"WELL, I'M GOING IN ANYWAY!", announced the skeleton, and before any of the other two could object, he opened the front door – which had been left unlocked, for some reason – and entered.

Frisk and MK looked at each other for a moment, the latter shrugging, and they both went after Papyrus, entering the house, too.

It was like entering a portal to the past.

Everything in there was exactly the same as Frisk remembered. Sans' pet rock on the table at the far side of the living room, the dirty sock next to the television, and even the quantum physics (or joke?) book on the little desk by the corner were in the same place they were six years before. Glancing at the second floor, he could also see the bone picture on the corridor's wall and the various "warning signs" hanging on Papyrus' bedroom door. The human reckoned that place had probably been the skeleton brothers' safe haven from all the madness the Underground became.

Papyrus attempted flipping the light switch next to the entrance door, but nothing happened.

"NO ENERGY...", he said. "I GUESS WE WON'T BE ABLE TO WATCH ANY MOVIES ON THE TELEVISION, THEN..."

He sounded sincerely disappointed, making Frisk and MK exchange amused looks. Meanwhile, the skeleton walked around the living room, looking at the things there.

"OH MY, IT'S SO DUSTY IN HERE!"

Indeed, the only thing that gave away the fact time had actually passed inside that house was the thin layer of dust that covered the floor and the furniture. However, Frisk thought there were more important matters they should take care of first if they were going to spend the night in there.

"Where are we gonna sleep here?"

The skeleton averted his eyes from the television, confused for a moment, looking to the human.

"OH, RIGHT!", he said, scratching the back of his skull. "I'M GOING TO FETCH SOME SLEEPING BAGS IN THE SHED! JUST WAIT HERE!"

He passed by Frisk and MK and went back outside, leaving the two alone in the house. The reptilian monster, who had never really minded dusty environments, just crashed on the couch, closing his eyes. He got so quiet it was possible he had actually fallen asleep. Trying not to make any noises, the human wandered around the place.

The kitchen, like the living room, looked mostly intact, with the same obnoxiously tall sink at its back. He opened the fridge and coughed as he sensed the horrible smell of expired spaghetti leftovers. Well, they wouldn't be eating _that_ , so he just closed the door.

He then decided to go upstairs, praying none of the steps creaked – but fortunately that didn't happen as the house was still in pretty good shape. Once he reached the upper floor, he was immediately in front of Papyrus' bedroom door. From up close, he could actually read the signs, and the door was full of them – from the regular ones like " _KEEP OUT_ " and " _DANGER_ " from the most peculiar ones like " _NO GIRLS ALLOWED_ ", " _NO BOYS ALLOWED_ " and " _PAPYRUS ALLOWED_ ". Frisk smirked, feeling his heart getting a little lighter.

He proceeded to the room at the other end of the corridor – which, compared to Papyrus', didn't have any signs and looked rather plain, although Frisk remembered a strange, multicolored smoke coming from under it when he visited the house the previous time.

That could only be Sans' bedroom. Frisk's hand touched the doorknob, the temptation of turning it and seeing what was inside getting higher and higher. Perhaps the answer for him keeping his memories across the reset was there?

He dropped the knob.

No, that would feel _wrong_. He knew in his heart that Sans wouldn't keep something like that in his bedroom. If he entered, he'd be prying into something particular, and he was sure Papyrus wouldn't like it. He turned around and went downstairs.

As soon as he touched the ground floor, Papyrus burst the front door open, carrying three sleeping backs over his shoulder that seemed in okay conditions. MK jolted up, scared, looking over the couch to the skeleton with a frightened look for a moment.

" _Yo_!", he yelled, before crashing down to the couch and getting back to sleep again. Papyrus looked puzzled, and Frisk snorted a laugh, walking towards the skeleton.

"I guess we won't need one of the bags, huh?", said the human, taking one of the bags from the skeleton's shoulder.

"I GUESS NOT!", agreed Papyrus, tossing one of the bags aside, and keeping the other. Surprisingly, MK didn't even move from the sound of the skeleton's voice.

They decided to leave the sleeping bags next to each other, in front of the couch. They were beige and simple, but looked comfortable enough, and Frisk was suddenly taken by the desire to dive in one of them and finally take a good, needed rest. However, it seemed Papyrus wasn't quite finished with his preparations.

"I THINK I HAVE SOME PILLOWS IN MY ROOM! I'M GONNA FETCH THEM!", he said, going upstairs in some sort of silent jogging. "FOR EXTRA COMFORT!", he completed from the upper floor, going into the bedroom.

That was certainly amusing. Frisk glanced a look to the sleeping bags on the floor, then to MK and then to the open bedroom door upstairs. Well, that was turning into the closest thing to a slumber party he had ever been in, so he could as well see what the skeleton was up to, since the reptilian monster was already sleeping.

He climbed the stairs again, and once he reached Papyrus' bedroom he didn't enter immediately, as he just stood by the door, looking.

Frisk had only been in that bedroom once (in a very... _unique_ situation, no less), but its details were carved into his mind. The pirate flag, the bookshelf, the action figures and the racecar-shaped bed stood in the exact same places they did for six years. Papyrus himself was sitting on the bed, holding something the human couldn't identify from that distance.

As Frisk approached the bed and sat next to the skeleton, they let out a long sigh, filled with melancholy. He noticed they had picked the pillows up – three big, fluffy ones that were pilled up on each other. He also finally could see what Papyrus was holding – a white t-shirt with the words "Cool Dude" in the middle. Basketball balls were drawn on each shoulder region. The shirt itself was visibly old, its colors faded probably from the various washings it went through.

"SORRY...", said Papyrus, looking to the human and giving a little smile. "I'M JUST FEELING A BIT HOMESICK, I GUESS..."

Frisk put his hand on the skeleton's shoulder, trying to comfort them.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize for that."

Papyrus then raised the t-shirt in front of him, analyzing it.

"I ALWAYS LIKED THIS T-SHIRT!", he commented, now fully smiling. "EVEN WHEN IT GOT OLD AND THE FABRIC BEGAN GETTING WORN OUT, I STILL WORE IT!"

The human laughed, remembering he had actually seen Papyrus in that shirt before. It was one of his oddest – yet also funniest – moments of his life. A good memory, one could say.

"I can get you a new one once this is all over.", he said, absentmindedly.

Papyrus looked at him, happy.

"OH, THANK YOU HUMAN, YOU'RE TOO KIND!", they said, but then their expression turned confused. "BUT, UH... WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER, WON'T I, UH... _FORGET_ ABOUT THIS? BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE RESET AND ALL..."

It was as if the air inside Frisk's lungs had gotten colder. He said that without thinking – of course, Papyrus was right. He needed to be more careful with what he said, however. He didn't want to give the wrong impression to the skeleton or to MK.

"Yes, of course.", Frisk quickly added. "I meant I'd buy you one when I get everyone to the surface in the new timeline."

Papyrus seemed contented enough with the answer.

"OW, THANK YOU!", they said, giving the human a side hug, which made him feel a little awkward, although he actually liked the gesture. "EVEN IF I WON'T REMEMBER YOU SAID YOU'D BUY ME ONE, THANK YOU!"

After they let go of Frisk, the human smiled back.

"Don't worry.", he said, winking. "I will."

After that, Papyrus put the t-shirt back into the wardrobe, and they and Frisk picked the pillows up and headed downstairs. Papyrus took care of MK, lifting their head to put the pillow below it. The reptilian monster grunted some unintelligible words, but didn't wake up. Meanwhile, Frisk tucked himself into his sleeping bag – and if his back could speak, it probably would thank him for not sleeping on hard ground for yet another night.

After the skeleton was done with MK, they too lay into their bag. As they were really tall, they needed to flex their knees so they would fit in. Silence filled the house, and it didn't take long for Frisk to start feeling drowsy.

He had a lot to worry about. He wondered if he'd manage to make the reset happen, and if he'd find a way to keep his memories across it. However, the question that sprouted in his tired mind in that moment wasn't related to any of that. He turned around, facing Papyrus, who was still wide awake.

"Papyrus?", he called, softly.

"HM?", they answered.

"Why did you leave the Royal Guard?"

Silence filled the room again, and Papyrus looked as if there was a lot going through his own head, too.

"I DIDN'T LEAVE THE ROYAL GUARD.", he replied. "THE ROYAL GUARD LEFT ME."

* * *

 _The place had little to no light, and Frisk was running on some very unreliable platforms, but he couldn't slow down. Not when Undyne was hunting him down, throwing spears and summoning traps around him. Somehow, he managed to avoid it all – but it was only a matter of time. If he didn't lose her soon..._

 _And then, he didn't have anywhere else to run to. The platform had suddenly ended, and the human almost fell to the darkness below, barely managing to balance himself. He turned around only to find Undyne a few feet from him. He froze._

 _She was looking at him. She was wearing a helmet which made her eyes difficult to see, but Frisk knew she was looking at him – probably thinking on the best way to finish him off. He recoiled._

 _Undyne raised her hand, and a spear flew through the platform, cutting the wood that served as support. The planks fell off from under Frisk's feet – and for the second time since he entered the Underground, he was falling._

 _The last thing he saw before the darkness engulfed him was Undyne staring down._

* * *

The garbage dump reeked. Of course, it reeked too six years before, but since then its smell had gotten even fouler. Perhaps it was due to the fact there was three times more junk in there in the moment. Even walking there was difficult – but it was the only way currently available, so Frisk, MK and Papyrus just held their breaths for as long as possible and soldiered through.

They were in Waterfall, one of the deepest parts of the Underground, and Frisk's flashlight was, for most of the time, the only source of light available. From time to time, they'd see the faint glow of an echo flower growing lonely somewhere – and the fact they were completely silent just added to the foreboding feeling that had been chasing the trio for a while.

Suddenly, Frisk tripped on something – his flashlight flying away, landing several feet ahead of them. He fell on all fours over the trash, feeling his left palm throbbing. Oh no, had he cut it?

"Dammit...", he said after a sigh, wiping the blood on his pants.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HUMAN?", said Papyrus, approaching to help him stand.

The human mumbled something to thank the skeleton as he took their hand to stand up again. Up ahead, the flashlight's beam gave its position away, and the three walked towards it – taking care not to trip on anything.

When Frisk bent down to pick it up – with his alright hand, of course – he caught sight of something that made him hesitate for a little while. Then, he grabbed the flashlight alongside the item that had caught his attention. It was a book, though it wasn't in its best conditions – the front cover was torn up and some pages were molded, but he recognized it.

 _Alice in Wonderland_ , by Lewis Carroll.

He smiled, resigned. Like Alice in the story, he too fell in his own rabbit hole – but now he was far too deep into it to simply turn around and go back to his old life, to his old normality.

"What's that?", asked MK, trying to have a better look at the book.

Frisk tossed it to the ground, shrugging.

"Nothing important."

From the look in their face, he hadn't really satisfied their curiosity, but Frisk wasn't really wanting to explain it. He began walking again, MK and Papyrus following him closely on their way out of the garbage dump.

Once they left that place, their surroundings got immediately less smelly, but not any less dark. They found themselves back in the cold, moisturized walls of Waterfall – the sound of water falling in the distance echoing through the deserted corridors. Even though the Underground was a massive place, none of them had any difficult navigating there – the many reference points made it very easy even for Frisk to recognize where he was going.

When the cave finally opened, the three stepped into a stone bridge – a faint, reddish light coming from their front. Frisk instinctively looked up, above the following cavern's entrance, almost expecting to see Undyne jumping down from there, ready to battle him. For some unknown reason, the memory made him smile.

They entered yet another, bigger cave. The cold moisture from Waterfall slowly began to be replaced by the scalding temperature from Hotland, which was just up ahead. They passed by a big, electronic sign which in the moment was completely shut down, as the cavern walls began changing in color – from a relaxing blue to an energized orange. As the the natural light from the place went brighter and the temperature higher, they reached the arrangements of stone bridges and high-tech platforms that composed Hotland.

Both Frisk and MK took the coats and sweaters they had been wearing as they walked through the place – the heat getting more and more unbearable. Papyrus, not being affected by the temperature, didn't need to change anything.

They didn't have to walk much longer to spot the big, white building in the distance, not marked by anything but the word " _LAB_ " above the automatic door. Looking from there, it looked rather ominous – like it was the home of an evil, mad scientist, but when Frisk visited it the previous time he just found the extremely quirky, nerdy place Alphys worked on. He wondered if it had resisted time, like Sans and Papyrus' house, or if it had drastically changed, like pretty much everything else.

When they reached the lab's entrance, Frisk pressed the button next to it to see if it opened. Not coming as a surprise to anyone, it didn't. The human passed his hand on his forehead, drying the sweat that was forming there, looking around.

"THE UNDERGROUND IS IN COMPLETE BLACKOUT!", stated Papyrus. "THERE'S NOT A SINGLE PLACE WITH ENERGY... I WONDER IF SOMETHING HAPPENED AT THE CORE?"

"It's possible.", said MK in turn. "I mean, nobody has checked it in months, and the Core always needed constant maintenance."

As much as Frisk wanted to discuss the reason for the Underground's lack of electric energy, there were more important matters at hand.

"We can't get through.", he said, clicking his tongue. "And the only other way around leads to an elevator, but we can't use it if there's no energy..."

But then, he took a good look at the lab's door. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed it actually wasn't completely closed – there was a very small gap in between, with barely enough size for Frisk's fingers to fit in.

"There's an opening here!", exclaimed Frisk, putting his fingers in the gap and attempting to pull the door open, although it hardly moved an inch. "Papyrus, give me a hand!"

The skeleton promptly grabbed the gap too – and together, they both began pulling the door. It was tough, but little by little they managed to open it, until the gap had a reasonable size so they could all squeeze through.

The inside of Alphys' laboratory was way fresher than the rest of Hotland, which came as a welcoming change. The trio stood by the entrance, the orange light from outside pouring a bit inside from the gap – although the majority of the place was still shrouded by darkness.

"Uh... what now?", asked MK, his voice echoing in the empty lab.

"There's another exit at the other end of this corridor.", explained Frisk. "Let's just hope we can open it, too..."

So far, things have been working pretty well for them in the Underground – the human just hoped it would stay that way, as they were getting closer and closer to the barrier. They began walking across the dark lab – Frisk's flashlight becoming once again the only source of light available to guide them.

The human looked around as he walked. The lab was aesthetically the same, but it looked way more organized. There were no videogame walkthroughs scattered around the desks, no comic books or mangas on the floor, not even old anime DVDs he remembered Alphys was so fond of. The hole in which Mettaton had crashed through to "ambush" Frisk was fixed. For the first time, it actually looked like a proper lab – and oddly enough, that felt extremely out of place, like the traps in the Ruins or the library with the correctly spelled sign at Snowdin.

As they approached the exit, the place got colder, and Frisk started to feel a strange discomfort at the pit of his stomach – which grew and grew with every step he took. He then stopped with a sudden halt, although MK and Papyrus kept going for a while before they noticed he did so.

He was feeling _extremely_ anxious. At first, he attributed that to the cold temperature, but he was realizing that was not it. No – that particular sensation felt too familiar for him to mistake it.

He was remembering something. Something _important_.

"What's up, dude?", asked MK, while he and Papyrus approached the human again.

The cold sensation went up to his forehead, and Frisk put his hand there, closing his eyes. Something important... something...

" _If you want to learn 'the truth_ ' _..._ ", were the words that appeared in his mind.

Turning 90 degrees left, he slowly opened his eyes.

There was a mirrored-glass door there, with a small bathroom sign next to it. He cautiously approached it while MK and Papyrus just observed, apprehensive. He touched the door, looking for a knob.

"Um... you gotta use the bathroom?", asked MK, nervous.

There wasn't any knob on the door. The uncomfortable sensation increased... something there...

He then took some steps back, grabbing the flashlight with his mouth as he pulled his backpack and opened it, searching for his handgun. When he pulled it out, he tried to ignore Papyrus' distressed look and MK's confused expression – which only got more intense as he pointed it at the glass door.

"What the..!?", began MK.

 _BANG!_

With a single shot, the glass door shattered, revealing the dark passageway ahead. He put the gun back in his backpack as he approached the now open entrance, taking care with the broken glass on the floor. He barely crossed the door when a bright light turned on, making all three of them squint their eyes. The distinctive noise of a large electronic device working – a sound Frisk had not heard in a long, long time – filled the place.

The passageway lead to an elevator. Papyrus was astonished.

"THAT'S NO BATHROOM!"

Frisk entered, being followed closely by the reptilian monster and the skeleton.

"How is this working?", asked MK, looking around in awe.

"The lab has a generator.", explained Frisk, although it felt the words were getting out of his mouth by themselves. "This one is running on backup power, though."

MK looked at Frisk, completely dumbfounded.

"How do you _know_ that?"

The sensation in the human's stomach was more intense than ever, and he embraced himself, avoiding to look at MK.

"I've _been_ here before.", he reluctantly said. Both MK and Papyrus understood, and didn't ask anymore questions.

Truth was, he hated remembering things from the other timelines. It felt as though he had stolen someone else's memories and was using them to cheat on the future, which made him feel a bit sick. However, he knew that was necessary – he knew that was something that needed to be done if he wanted to accomplish the reset.

The elevator's panel had only two buttons. The upper one, which was currently lit up, obviously was for the floor they were in. The lower one...

"This is it...", slowly said Frisk, suddenly feeling excited. "The hidden laboratory!"

And that meant a lot – the human knew it, but MK and Papyrus didn't understand and just looked to the human, puzzled.

"HIDDEN... LABORATORY?", repeated Papyrus.

"The laboratory in which the most secret experiments were done.", Frisk quickly explained. "Mostly regarding on how to break the barrier. Only a handful of people could normally access it – the Royal Scientist and maybe one or two of their most trusted colleagues. Sans mentioned it for us the day after the war broke out, remember, Papyrus?"

Papyrus' expression suddenly became clarified – he too was remembering his brother had said something to that effect all those months prior, when they had filled the human in what happened in the Underground. MK, however, still seemed as clueless as ever.

"That's nice and all, but what does this have anything on what we're supposed to do?", they asked.

Frisk took a deep breath. Something...

"Because...", he said, slowly. "The answer is there. The secret for me to keep my memories – the secret of how Sans kept his memories – across the resets, is down there. I know it."

Papyrus gasped. MK's eyes lit up. That whole time, the reptilian monster was worried about how Frisk would keep his memories, so he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. They looked at the elevator's panel, contemplative.

"I guess we have no choice...", said MK, turning around to face Frisk again. "But to go straight into hell then, right?"

Frisk nodded, firmly. All his memories – the ones he had from the current timeline, and from the ones before it – they were all centered in that laboratory, and the secrets it held. He was as sure of this as he was sure of his own name. The answers _were_ there.

With a quick look to MK and Papyrus, each giving a determined nod, Frisk pressed the button on the panel, and the elevator's doors closed again.

They descended.


	17. Bad Memory

As the elevator took them to the hidden laboratory, Frisk and MK put their various layers of clothes back on. They could withstand the cold if it meant that they soon would be back into Hotland – but that certainly wasn't the case anymore. They were about to spend quite some time wandering in that place.

One minute passed – the only noise hearable was that of the elevator working. The human wondered, nervously, how deep inside the earth they were at that moment.

And then, it stopped.

The elevator's door opened with a strong, reverberating noise. Its light poured lonely inside the lab – although everything a few steps away was engulfed by the dark.

Hesitant, Frisk stepped inside the hidden laboratory – the frosty atmosphere making small clouds of mist appear in front of his face as he breathed. He turned the flashlight back on – and to his horror, the beam began flickering badly, as if it was about to fail.

"Not _now_...", worriedly mumbled Frisk, hitting the grip softly with his other hand until the light became stable once more.

Papyrus and MK stepped outside – their breaths also forming little clouds of mist in front of them – and the elevator door closed, making the flashlight the only source of light available once more. Frisk quickly glanced around, trying to get a grasp on the surroundings. He found an old, empty vending machine and some big monitors on the walls – but other than that, there was nothing else much of interest.

"This is where Alphys kept the amalgamates.", said Frisk, his voice a just a little louder than a whisper.

Papyrus seemed uncomfortable.

"POOR THINGS!", he commented. "USED TO BREAK THE BARRIER... AS IF THEY WERE DISPOSABLE!"

There was a hidden pain underneath the skeleton's words that Frisk somehow understood. Of course, Undyne was the one who demanded Alphys to test the amalgamates on the barrier. Before the human entered the Underground six years before, Papyrus and the now empress had been close friends. It must have been difficult for him to cope with the fact Undyne had changed so drastically after she became the ruler of the Underground – willing to do anything to escape their confinement and take the surface back.

In a sense, Asgore had done the same before her. He too made terrible decisions with the intention of freeing monsters from the Underground – including killing the innocent children that fell before Frisk. He wondered if, like Asgore, Undyne regretted her decision of waging war on humanity.

"What do we do now?", asked MK, pulling the human away from his thoughts.

Frisk looked to MK and Papyrus, who were clearly expecting him to give some directions. Well, he had taken them there, hadn't he?

"Let's have a look around.", the human replied. "There must be a clue or something in here..."

And so, they began walking through the hidden laboratory corridors. Frisk had the strange feeling he had wandered there before, but he couldn't remember anything more concrete. He was as clueless on what to do or where to go as the monsters who followed him – but he lead the way nonetheless.

The three stumbled upon a room with lots of beds disposed, like an infirmary of sorts. Despite being abandoned for at least several months, it still held that distinctive hospital smell. Cabinets by the walls were filled with unknown substances Frisk didn't bother with in the moment.

Every time they found a door, they opened it, hoping it would shed a light on their objective, but they only found empty offices or cupboards filled with cleaning products. One room, however, seemed to be more promising, with a huge computer by its corner. Perhaps it was the main CPU used in the laboratory? There could be something in there...

Frisk pressed the button next to the huge monitor, but it didn't turn on. He cursed in his mind – of course, with only backup power available the computer wouldn't work, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't have any hopes that would work. He gave a tired sigh.

"We need to restore the main power.", said Frisk, at least glad he had found a concrete objective to aim for. "Let's find the generator room."

He wasn't sure how he knew there was a generator room in there – but he did. At least MK and Papyrus nodded firmly, happy to hear the decisive tone in his voice. They got out of the room and Frisk glanced around, trying to imprint the surroundings in his memory so he'd be able to make the way back again – which wasn't an easy task, since pretty much everywhere in the laboratory looked about the same.

They walked – the atmosphere around making them feel extremely uneasy. Nobody spoke and they remained in a tense kind of silence, as if just expecting something to jump at them in the next corner. Frisk shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He was being silly – there was no one else in the lab besides them. _Right_?

But the sooner they got out of there, the better. Wandering around an abandoned laboratory with the only source of light being from a tiny flashlight most definitely didn't make them feel comfortable.

They got into a big chamber, and Papyrus gasped, looking at the big machine on the center. Frisk walked around, shining the flashlight over it, and he too became amazed. The machine was gigantic, red in color, and strongly resembled a skull – or maybe a terrified face. It wasn't pleasant to look at in the slightest.

"WHAT IS THAT!?", asked Papyrus, a bit shaky. "AND WHY DOES IT LOOK SO... _HORRIFYING_!?"

MK gave a nervous laugh.

"I bet Dr. Alphys thought it looked cool."

Frisk, who was searching for anything that could identify what that machine had been used for, made a dismissive sound with his mouth.

"Alphys would never come up with such a freaky design by herself..."

There, he found it – a small, silver sign he needed to approach to read the half-erased words.

"' _DT Extraction Machine'."_ , the human read out loud, glancing a look at the machine. MK looked at him, puzzled.

"What's ' _DT_ '?"

The answer came swiftly into Frisk's head, and he didn't even need to think hard about it.

"Determination.", he replied, trying to get a better look on the machine. "So it was with this thing Alphys got determination from the souls of the humans who fell befo-"

Before he could complete the sentence, there was a sudden, loud noise behind him – which almost made his heart skip from his mouth. MK jumped on his spot, startled. Papyrus wheezed, putting his hand on his chest to calm himself down.

Not only was there sound, but there was also light coming from somewhere immediately behind them. The three turned around, confused.

There was a big monitor hanging on the wall – and it had turned on by itself. The screen, however, was only picking up static – the speakers emitting white noise as well. It was piercing, annoying and highly unsettling. The trio stood there, unsure of what was going on. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped – the monitor turning back off, making Frisk's flashlight once again the lone light source of the environment.

With his heart beating fast from the scare, the human began wondering what had just happened. The main power – the one which presumably powered computers, machines, and monitors – was supposed to be out. Then, how did the monitor in the room turned on – _by itself_ , nonetheless?

"What was _that_?", asked MK, their voice full of anxiety. Frisk showed his palm to the monster, in a sign for them to stop talking.

The place was completely silent. Except...

"Hear that?", asked Frisk to the two monsters, and they both nodded.

There was a faint, static sound coming from a room just a bit further ahead of them. After their recent experience, none of them were willing to go investigate strange noises in that empty laboratory – but it was not like they could just simply ignore it, either. Gathering all the courage he could find within himself, Frisk stepped forward, walking through the following corridor, with MK and Papyrus just behind him.

It was pretty clear when they found the room in which the source of the noise was located, as it got considerably stronger in there. Trying to control his trembling hands, he slowly turned the doorknob, and the trio carefully entered the room.

In his paranoia, Frisk was half-expecting to see someone in there – but of course there wasn't anybody in the room, and he released his breath. The room was very simple – a TV set in the back, between two shelves full of old VHS tapes. The static noise was coming from a small, portable recorder on top of the same desk the TV was on.

The human carefully approached it, intending to turn the recorder off. As it was portable, meaning it was run by batteries, at least it made more sense for it to turn on than the monitor on the Dt Extraction Machine chamber. However, that thought wasn't really comforting.

As soon as he picked the recorder on his hand, though, the static noise got suddenly louder – its piercing sound making Papyrus instinctively cover the place where his ears would be, which would have been comic if Frisk himself wasn't feeling so scared. A low, grunting voice began to speak through the white noise.

" _Come... join... the... fun... come... join... the... fun... come... join... the... fun..."_

It sounded extremely unnatural, like someone was speaking through a voice changer. Sometimes it was high-pitched, some parts came off low-pitched, and the effect was maddening. Frisk frantically searched the object for a button to turn it off.

" _Comejoin... thefun... come... jointhefun... join... the... comejoin..."_

The voice was speeding up.

" _God_ , just turn this thing off already!", complained MK, not hiding the unsettlement in his voice.

"I _can't_ find the button!", replied Frisk, exasperated.

"Then take the damn batteries off!"

The human turned the recorder on his hands, opening the lid where the batteries would normally be placed.

His heart sank, and he held it up so MK could see the problem. Their eyes widened and their face became unnaturally pale.

There were no batteries.

" _Funfunfunfunfunfunfunfun..."_

Suddenly, Papyrus snatched the recorder from Frisk's hand and threw it on the ground, stepping furiously on it. Frisk never saw – or expected to see, in fact – the skeleton acting like that. He kept stomping on it until all the noises stopped, leaving the recorder completely destroyed in the process.

A welcoming silence fell upon them, broken only by Papyrus shaky breath. They all felt relieved – but tension was still high in the air.

"Well, that solves it.", said MK, smiling at the skeleton, who was still too shaken up to give a proper answer.

Suddenly, a shadow passed by the door – so quickly Frisk barely noticed. Being the only one facing the door, he was also the only one who shouted in shock, pointing his flashlight at the door and automatically searching for the gun in his pocket – before he remembered he had put it in his backpack.

"W-WHAT HAPPENED?", asked Papyrus, glancing nervously at the door.

Frisk, feeling his mouth extremely dry, started coming to a very dreadful realization.

"I... I don't think we're alone.", he replied, grimly.

MK's eyes widened, and he looked apprehensively at the door, and then back at then human.

"Wha..? What do you mean?", he asked.

"I mean there's some... _one_ else besides us down here."

For a moment, Frisk almost said "something", but he quickly changed his mind. Even then, he wasn't too sure if it was better for the two monsters to think there was another human or monster down there – or yet _another_ type of being entirely. Still, whatever had passed by the door didn't look... well, _solid_. It resembled some sort of shapeless shadow.

"UH... MAYBE IT WAS ONE OF THOSE... WHAT DID YOU CALL THEM, HUMAN? _AMOLGAMADES_?", asked Papyrus, forcing a smile.

"Amalgamates.", Frisk corrected automatically, shifting the weight on his feet, uncomfortably. "And... I don't know. Maybe?"

But according to what Sans had told him all those months ago, the amalgamates were used as substitutes to human souls, dying in the process. Still, maybe one of them escaped and had been wandering alone in the hidden lab for all that time?

Trying to look braver than he was actually feeling, Frisk approached the door and glanced a look to both sides of the corridor. It was completely silent, and everything seemed to be in place – there was not a trace of the shadow that passed.

"We're fine.", he said, more to himself than to the two monsters who were nervously waiting right behind him. "We just need to be careful. Now let's find this generator – the sooner we get lights, the better."

And with that, the three reentered the mazy corridors. Frisk noticed they were walking closer to each other than they were before the episode with the monitor, the radio and the mysterious shadow – and (not without a slight feeling of shame) he realized he actually liked it that way. He knew they weren't any safer by doing that, but it was psychologically comforting for some reason.

It was actually really easy to get lost in there – Frisk accidentally conducted them back to the infirmary room two times, and was getting really frustrated when he finally saw something new in those corridors: another elevator. MK noticed it, too, and as they passed by he kept looking, thoughtful.

"Hm... wonder where this one leads to?"

The human once again had that weird sensation he knew the answer – yet couldn't remember it. He shrugged it off, but decided to mark the elevator in the back of his mind – it could be important.

Fortunately, the generator room wasn't much farther ahead than that. It was pretty obvious when they found it – a passageway noticeably bigger than the other rooms, which lead to a fairly big chamber with large pipes hanging on either side of the room. Some familiar-looking machines were by the end. Be it on the surface or in the Underground, energy generators looked all too similar to each other.

The trio entered the chamber, Frisk walking a bit faster in excitement. _Finally_ , they were making progress. They just needed to see what was wrong with the generator.

The human investigated the outside appearance of the machine first – it seemed okay.

"How do you intend on fixing this thing, man?", asked MK, looking curiously at the machine.

Somehow, the human managed to smile at the question.

"Remember we helped Barry fix the prison generator back then?"

MK snorted, giving a little smile – but looking a bit sad, too. Frisk couldn't help but be reminded of Leonard, Eileen and the rest of their resistance group (including, with a sting in his heart, Chris). It felt like so much time had passed since him and the reptilian monster had encountered them.

The human was about to open the largest generator's panel when he began hearing a very unpleasant noise that made his blood run cold.

 _Static noise_. The same one they had heard not long before.

It seemed to be coming from the entrance of the generator room – and Frisk immediately turned around to shine the flashlight's beam there. MK and Papyrus noticed the sound too and kept their eyes glued to the same spot with bated breath.

Yet – this time it was different. It sounded like the static noise was slowly approaching them – getting louder and louder by the second. Frisk fought the urge to cover his ears to protect them from that hellish sound.

And then, it appeared.

It was just like the thing Frisk caught a glimpse of earlier – a strange, dark shadow that seemed to be made of something more solid than smoke – but even then, it didn't seem solid _enough_. It hovered about a feet over the ground, and didn't have a defined shape – its whole "body" constantly twisted around itself, except for the holes in the center that resembled an expression of agony.

"What is _that_!?", exclaimed MK, giving some steps back, looking utterly repulsed.

Frisk's breath was erratic and his heart was beating fast inside his chest. He didn't want to stick around long enough to discover what that thing was.

However, just as he was about to run past it, he heard a loud noise coming from the walls of the generator room – the distinctive sound of gas leaking from pipes. He looked around, noticing the static noises seemed to have tripled, and his heart sank. Two other shadow things had appeared – and alongside the one that had come through the entrance door, they were all closing on the human and the two frightened monsters.

Frisk didn't know what to do. They were trapped. His instincts told him to run away, but he couldn't feel his legs. Among the static sounds, he began hearing voices underneath – and they sounded strikingly similar to the one he had heard on the recorder earlier.

" _Join... the... fun._ "

" _Always... watching you. I'm always... watching..._ "

" _It's dark it's dark it's darkdarkdarkdark._ "

Suddenly, one of the shadows lunged forward, aiming at Papyrus. Frisk screamed – but between the loud static noise and the mumbled voices those things made, the skeleton didn't hear him. The shadow hit them with force and evaporated in a black cloud – but not before Papyrus collapsed to the ground, much to the human's horror.

The next few moments were so quick and so filled with a primal type of terror that Frisk wouldn't be able to remember it accurately in the future. He mumbled something to MK, telling them to run, but before he could do anything else, another shadow quickly put itself right in front of him. For a terrifying moment, it didn't do anything but give what sounded like a demented laugh over the static noise – and then it lurched at him just like the other one had done with Papyrus.

A cold, drowning sensation spread from where it hit him to the rest of his body, making him fall to his fours, breathless. His vision went dark and all the other noises stopped.

* * *

He woke up inside his sleeping bag, at Sans and Papyrus' house. He blinked a few times, groggy. He felt exhausted, like he had no sleep at all – probably because of the nightmare he just had. He couldn't remember it clearly, but he had a nervous sensation on the pit of his stomach.

Turning to the other side, he saw Papyrus' bag was empty. Seating, he took a glance at the couch behind him, where he remembered MK had been sleeping. They weren't there, either. His nervousness increased.

Maybe it wasn't rational, but he didn't want to be alone in there.

"Papyrus?", he called, his voice echoing through the house. "MK?"

There was no response – the house remained completely silent. Slightly nauseated, Frisk stood up. He looked around, and apart from the two monsters sudden absence, everything seemed in its place. Still, there was something weird going on.

Something _bad_.

He decided to search for the skeleton and the reptilian monster, beginning on the ground floor. As they clearly weren't in the living room, he headed to the kitchen.

Papyrus was there.

He gasped in surprise. They were facing their back at him, seeming to be staring at the unusually tall sink.

Frisk almost sighed with relief – but something held him back. Papyrus was strangely still, almost like a statue. A foreboding feeling installed within the human's heart, and for a moment he almost wished he hadn't found them at all.

"Papyrus?", he called again, hesitantly.

The skeleton didn't seem to have heard him and kept still in their place. Almost tip-toeing, Frisk slowly approached them, his heart beating so strongly against his chest he could actually feel the heartbeats inside his ears.

"Hey, are you lis...", he began, touching Papyrus' shoulder.

As soon as his hand touched the skeleton, their skull turned in an unnatural way to face him, and Frisk couldn't do anything to stop the scream that escaped – raw and shocked – from his throat. The lower half of Papyrus' skull was missing – and the other was slowly disintegrating into dust. Their eyes were stiff and dead – the darkness inside it provoking nothing but terror within the human.

Before he could do anything, the skeleton fell on him, and as soon as they hit the floor Papyrus' body crumbled into white dust. Wanting to scream, but finding his voice gone, the human dragged himself away from the remains, wanting to look away, though his vision seemed to have permanently glued to that gruesome scene.

Fighting the urge to vomit, he stood on his shaky legs, attempting to quickly remove all the dust that had fallen over his body, when he noticed he had been holding something firmly in his hand all that time.

 _A knife_. Not just any knife, but a very singular one – a red blade adorned by golden details. However, what immediately caught his attention was all the dust that covered it.

With tears forming in his eyes and his hands shaking badly, he looked from the knife to the crumbled remains from Papyrus in the kitchen. No... he didn't... he couldn't...

"What did you do?", slowly asked a voice behind him.

Frisk turned around, and his heart leaped. By the entrance of the house, there was the last monster he had last expected to ever see again.

 _Toriel_.

"I... I...", the human was so shocked he couldn't form words.

Toriel looked about the same as Frisk remembered – but the expression she wore wasn't fitting of her. She didn't look kind and motherly, but severe and judgemental. There was a glimpse of utter disgust in her eyes, which made the human feel very, very small.

"You _killer_.", she hissed, casting a look full of hate at him.

That look made the words that had been stuck in his throat finally come out.

"No... I didn't do it...", he said, just a little louder than a mumble. "This i-isn't what it looks like... it... I... I found him like that!"

"Liar!", she shouted, stepping closer. "You can't fool me! You're holding a knife! You killed him, just like you killed _me_ in cold blood years ago!"

Frisk would have rather she just pulverized him with magic instead of throwing those words at him. He recoiled, speechless.

"N-no... No!", he denied childishly, shaking his head. "I-it was an accident, I didn't..."

"An _accident_!?", she repeated, giving a hollow laugh. "Are you telling me that even when you don't want, all you can do is make others suffer!? Or maybe..."

Frisk began coughing uncontrollably, and when he recomposed, he saw Toriel had vanished in thin air. He looked around – desperately trying to find where she was. The last thing he wanted was to be caught off guard by her.

"Maybe you _do_ want to make others suffer.", he heard Toriel's cold voice right next to his ear. "And you hide yourself under the 'accident' excuse."

Frisk tightened the grip around the dusty knife, his breath quick and shallow.

"Yes... yes...", she said, sounding introspective. "You say you want to save everybody so badly... yet all you do is inflict pain in others... you _disgust_ me!"

"SHUT UP!", Frisk shouted, quickly turning around and brandishing the knife, slashing Toriel a deep cut in her throat.

For a moment, her eyes widened, her expression taken by shock. She made a gurgling sound, putting her hand over the wound and – to Frisk's horror – it actually bled, the red liquid staining her fur. The human took some steps back, watching as Toriel raised her arms in the air, her eyes going blank. Then, she let out the most horrible scream Frisk had ever heard in his entire life. Dropping the knife, he turned around and ran towards the entrance door. He had no idea where he was going – he just wanted to get away from Toriel... or whatever was using her body.

However, as he hastily opened the door, ready to step outside, he discovered there was _no outside_. Where was supposed to be the snowy grounds of Snowdin was actually a bottomless pit – the house was literally in the middle of a dark nothing.

There was no way Frisk would willingly jump in there – but he lost his balance and fell. His body spun and spun as he kept falling, making him catch glimpses of the house distancing itself. He screamed – he was sure he was screaming at least – but there was no sound coming from his mouth. And just when he thought that would last forever, it stopped.

He had landed with his back on a bed of flowers – the same bed of flowers at the entrance of the Underground. Feeling like he had been run over by a truck, he stood up, looking around. Despite the golden flowers, there was only blackness around him – but at least it seemed he had reached solid ground, so he wouldn't be falling anymore.

As there was nothing else to do, he ventured away from the bed of flowers and into the darkness. His footsteps echoed, and he could hear his breath way louder than he normally would. He felt cold, so he embraced himself in an attempt to conserve heat.

And then, he spotted a silhouette in the distance. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or scared, but he could see that was definitely not Toriel, which was a good start. He walked towards it, each step closer making him feel more and more nervous.

They seemed to be the same height as him, and soon enough he began to be able to make out the clothes they were wearing. A t-shirt with blue and purple stripes, blue shorts, bare footed. When he was just a few feet away from them, he stopped, wondering if he should call or if they had noticed he was there. And then, as if reading his mind, they turned around to face him. Frisk widened his eyes and let out a shocked gasp.

It was _him_. In a surrealistic turn of events, the person staring at him was _himself_. They looked confused at each other.

"Who are you?", Frisk heard his voice coming from the person in front of him.

The human kept with his jaw dropped for a few moments, completely dumbfounded by the sight. Then, he put his hand over his chest.

"Frisk.", he replied, not sure why he was bothering actually answering the question.

The other one looked suspiciously at him.

"What do you mean, _you're_ Frisk?", they said, shaking their head. "You can't be Frisk! _I'm_ Frisk!"

For some reason, the human began to laugh – a despaired, almost maniac laugh. What the hell was going on? Surely he had lost it – he had finally gone insane.

"What's so funny?", asked "Frisk" as soon as the human stopped laughing.

Frisk looked at himself... no, _not_ himself. His doppelganger? Who was the person in front of him, anyway?

"You can't be me...", he said, his voice tired.

Suddenly, a very wicked smile plastered across "Frisk's" face. It was a weird sight for the human.

"You say _I_ can't be _you_...", they said, approaching. "But I say... _you_ can't be _me_."

With every step "Frisk" took, the human felt the bad sensation in his stomach increasing, so he began walking backwards. However, in a similar fashion Toriel did just before, his doppelganger vanished into thin air. This time Frisk felt them reappearing just behind him, embracing him from behind.

"But we could be one and the same, you know...", they said, their mouth an inch from Frisk's ear. "I can feel it... all this hope inside you... oh, all this _violence_! You've hurt some people, didn't you?"

Normally, the human would have fought to free himself, but "Frisk's" voice was so hypnotic he just kept still, feeling their warm breath against his skin.

"You just need to say one little word...", they continued, grasping Frisk more firmly. "You just need to embrace your guilt... your violent nature... and we'll be together... forever... and ever... and ever..."

 _Guilt_...

Hearing that word made Frisk snap out of his daze. He felt a sudden burst of energy coursing through his veins.

"No.", he said, firmly.

"What..?", his doppelganger seemed confused.

Frisk took the opportunity they were astonished to break free from their embrace, and he immediately felt a lot better – like they had been sucking his will to live, turning him into a hollow shell.

They faced each other, and Frisk could feel his determination growing inside him again. He was remembering things – him walking in an abandoned laboratory... Papyrus being hit by a strange being... the sound of loud static around him.

"I'm tired...", he began. "I'm tired of feeling guilty... I'm tired of feeling like the worst thing on Earth... and I'm sure as hell am tired to feel everything I do turns into a disaster. No! I know... there are people depending on me, and I can't fault with them! And this time, I'm making things right!"

His doppelganger frowned in distaste – they sure weren't pleased to hear that.

"I don't know what you're planning, but you better give up on it right now!", continued the human – the right words suddenly coming to his mind. "Because I'm _not_ joining you! I don't need you!"

When he said that, "Frisk" doubled up, holding their stomach seemingly in pain, and kept that way for a while. The human just watched in apprehension as they recomposed. They looked at him in a displeased, but rather neutral expression.

"Oh, well.", they said. "Then we have nothing else to talk about."

And just like that, their body turned into smoke, vanishing in the air. Not long after, Frisk felt the "world" around him vanishing too, including the darkness (if that was actually possible), until he also felt his conscience slowly fading away.

* * *

Frisk woke up on the cold floor of the generator room, coughing and gasping desperately for air. He saw black smoke all around – and for a brief moment he feared something there was on fire, until he noticed the smoke was coming from _him_. It seemed to be seeping out of his body through his pores, and although the human felt tired, he also felt strangely light, like he had just been cured from something very poisonous.

He sat on the ground, scratching his eyes, before he got up to fetch his flashlight that had rolled about a feet away from him on the floor. There wasn't that hellish static sound anymore, which was relieving, but what the human saw when he turned the flashlight back on was just as bad – if not worse – than that.

Both Papyrus and MK were laying on the floor, shaking and contorting heavily, wheezing and mumbling unintelligible words. Frisk's heart sank down to his stomach. Of course – they had been hit by the same thing that had hit him just before, and if they were experiencing anything similar to what he did, the human knew they probably were having a very bad time.

For a moment, he froze, not sure of what to do, but then a very disturbing thought crossed his mind. He had freed himself from the mental hell that thing had inflicted upon him – but what would have happened if he hadn't? What if, in the words of the "Frisk" he saw in there, they had "became one and the same"?

What would happen if Papyrus and MK couldn't escape?

With that in mind, he carefully approached the skeleton and crouched down next to them, hearing the words they were vocalizing.

"NO... _NO_! I... WHY... SANS..!"

Frisk shivered – the visions the shadow thing had showed him had been disturbing enough to scare him for the rest of his life. He could only imagine what Papyrus was seeing.

"SANS!" the skeleton suddenly yelled, seemingly having a convulsion, which made Frisk flinch.

As scared as the human was, he had to help them – but how?

"Papyrus.", he called slowly and clearly.

Against all odds, the skeleton stopped convulsing and kept still. Then, they turned their head slightly to face the human – but from the look in their eye sockets, Frisk could tell they couldn't actually _see_ him.

"SANS?", Papyrus called, his voice with an almost child-like hope. "OH MY GOD, SANS, IT'S YOU!"

It felt like someone was squeezing Frisk's heart with their bare hands. He knew the thing was showing Sans to Papyrus – that was how it was planning to make them join it. Frisk couldn't let that happen.

"I'm not Sans.", he said, once again slowly and clearly, trying not to shake his voice.

"SANS, I THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED!", said Papyrus blissfully, giving a laugh. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I'M SO ALONE HERE, AND SO SCARED, AND IT'S DARK AND COLD AND..."

Frisk felt himself getting desperate – he knew he was losing Papyrus to that thing. But what could he do when everything he said wasn't actually understood by the delirious skeleton?

However, if there was something the human was sure of, it was that he couldn't give up. So many times in the past had Papyrus believed in him – now it was his turn to believe in _them_.

"Papyrus, listen to me!", he said, his voice firm and commanding. "What you're seeing is not real! You're seeing what that thing wants you to see."

There was a moment of silence. And then...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NOT REAL'?", Papyrus asked, confused. "DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT, SANS, I... I _WANT_ IT TO BE REAL! YOU'RE HERE AND I'M SO HAPPY..."

Frisk could tell he was a second away from losing Papyrus – but he couldn't help but smile with their response. They had heard _something_ , and that was a start. He needed to keep going.

Knowing he could save his skeleton friend filled him with determination.

"Papyrus, you can't decide what is real and what is not!", the human replied calmly but steadily. "You need to wake up! We need you here! No...", he said, shaking his head. " _I_ need you here, Papyrus!"

"NEED... ME?"

The skeleton still had that empty look – meaning they still couldn't see Frisk, but at least they had stopped shivering.

"Yes.", said Frisk, energetic. "Please, I know things seem really dark now... but you need to remember you are the great Papyrus – and the great Papyrus can do anything!"

Papyrus' eye sockets widened ever so slightly. They let out a shaky breath.

"HU... MAN?", they slowly asked.

Frisk's heart leaped. He was doing it. It was just like he had reached his hand out inside a very dark hole, and somehow Papyrus managed to grab it. He just needed to pull them back up to safety – to reality.

"It's me, Frisk.", he replied, not taking his eyes off the skeleton's eye sockets, even though they couldn't actually see him. "Papyrus... _come back_."

Papyrus mumbled something, and then kept very still – his breathing so short that for a dreadful moment Frisk thought he was dying. After some time, however, he began shaking and contorting violently on the ground, and the human fought the urge to hold him still. A black smoke came out from his eye sockets and the corners of his mouth – the same smoke that seeped out from Frisk's pores about five minutes earlier.

Frisk distanced himself while that happened, but when it all stopped and the black smoke disappeared, he could see Papyrus laying on the floor – their eye sockets, while still dark, had some sort of spark it didn't have while they were under the illusions set by the shadow thing.

He approached as the skeleton sat on the ground, scratching the back of their skull, looking around, until they finally caught sight of him.

"HUMAN, WHAT..?"

But their sentence was cut short as Frisk brought them into a hug. They returned the gesture, hugging him in such a fraternal way that the human couldn't help but get a bit misty-eyed.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?", they asked.

"I'm fine.", Frisk replied, breaking the hug and quickly turning around to see MK twist and roll in their spot on the ground, seemingly in pain. "C'mon, we need to help MK – his time is ticking!"

" _TICKING_? BUT WHY?", asked Papyrus, confused.

There was no time to explain – and Frisk was praying it was still not too late to save MK. Not that he actually knew from exactly _what_ he was saving them from, but he'd have plenty of time to speculate about that later. For the moment, he needed to focus.

"MK...", he called softly, crouching down next to them just like he did with Papyrus.

Frisk immediately regretted doing that – the reptilian monster was in far worse condition than the skeleton had been, and hearing their name being called sounded all the wrong alarms.

"No... no!", they said, looking at Frisk – again, an empty look, meaning they weren't actually seeing him. "I-I didn't mean it!"

"Calm down!", the human replied, trying to keep his voice firm and wondering what he could say next. "MK, what you're-"

"She told me I had to do it!", the reptilian monster interrupted, their expression contorted with fear. "She told me, she told me, she told me! I didn't want to, it wasn't my fault!"

Then, to Frisk's surprise, they sat and began backing themselves away from him. Whatever they were seeing was clearly scaring them beyond the limits of sanity.

Papyrus was very confused.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?", he asked, looking worriedly from the human to MK.

"No no no no no..!", yelled the yellow monster.

He summoned a spear and threw it at the other two – Frisk ducked and Papyrus stepped out of the way just in time. As he got up again, nervously, the human had the realization that was going to be far more dangerous than he expected.

But that had never stopped him before, right?

Papyrus was about to say something again when Frisk made a sign for them to stop. MK was reacting at everything he was hearing – even if he wasn't actually understanding what was being said.

The human gave careful but decisive steps towards the reptilian monster, who were with their back against a wall, trembling and mumbling, the empty look in their eyes set on Frisk.

"MK, it's me.", Frisk tried again, a few feet away from MK. "It's me, Frisk!"

"L-leave me alone, please!", they pleaded, their voice shaking with terror. Another spear was thrown at Frisk, but the human dodged it swiftly.

"MK, you need to wake up!", he pressed on, slowly approaching the monster.

The monster shook their head weakly.

"No no no, I already said I'm sorry, they said that would be enough, I don't understand...", they said miserably.

Frisk gulped. If the reptilian monster was listening to _them_ , that wasn't a good sign. He also had a pretty good idea of what – or _who_ – the thing was showing him.

He was finally next to them. Taking a deep sigh, he crouched down. This time, MK hung their head low, refusing to look at Frisk, still trembling.

"I'm sorry, please... is _that_ what you want to hear?", they said with a weak voice. "I'm sorry..."

"I'm not the one you needed to say sorry to, MK.", the human replied, feeling heartbroken by seeing the reptilian monster in that state. "And... you know you can't say sorry to her anymore."

MK didn't reply to that. They had run out of forces. Frisk needed to act quickly, or he'd lose them.

"You need to carry on, MK.", he continued. "You killed someone and I... I... _I_ have killed too... and that left a mark on our souls that we'll carry forever with us."

MK mumbled something that made no sense. Somehow, the words kept coming to Frisk, and he knew what he needed to say.

"But I already told you, right? We can do better. We can _be_ better. And if there's something I know for sure, is that you're _great_ , MK. You're brave. You're loyal. You're kind."

"Leave me alone...", they replied in a whisper.

"I can't.", replied Frisk, his breath becoming shaky. "I can't because we've been together in this for too long for me to just give up on you..."

His voice failed towards the end of the sentence, and he waited expectantly as MK slowly turned to look him in the eyes – a faint light appearing in them.

"Fri... Frisk?", they asked.

Frisk threw his head back, fighting the tears that tried with all their might to come out. He needed to keep himself stable until MK was safe. Struggling to keep his voice firm, he looked back at the reptilian monster, saying what he needed to pull them back to reality.

"MK... _come back_."

After that, MK dropped their head and stood still – looking like a limp doll for a moment, just like Papyrus had. The skeleton approached the other two, nervously. And then, the reptilian monster had an spasm – and then other, and other, until they were convulsing heavily. That same black smoke came out from their mouth, as well as their pores, and disappeared into the air.

Both Frisk and Papyrus waited in silence until it was all over and MK stood still again. Then, the yellow monster looked to the human next to them and flinched, looking at Frisk in a weird way – almost like they were scared of him, which left him very confused. But then, their expression softened, and they looked to the ground, sad.

"I'm s-", they began, but they too were cut short by Frisk pulling them into a hug. MK gasped in surprise, not sure how to react.

That was new for the human, too. He had never hugged many people before in his life – it wasn't like there were many people out there he'd like to hug. Plus, he had a very clear definition of personal space which made him try to avoid direct contact with others every time it was possible. However, MK and Papyrus became too important for him to simply not care. They were everything he had – so he could make an exception in that definition of his.

"Uh... I'd hug you back if, you know, I had any arms.", said MK, giving an awkward, hoarse chuckle. "Just, um, pretend I'm hugging you, okay?"

Frisk laughed as he broke the hug and helped MK stand, looking fondly at the two monsters. They were alright. They were still there with him – and that realization made the heart inside his chest feel twice as big.

"WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?", asked Papyrus, clearly shocked and confused with what just happened. "WERE THOSE... _THINGS_... AMALGAMATES?"

The human's expression became serious once more. Like so many things in the Underground, he had the feeling he had seen those shadow beings before, but couldn't remember much about it.

"I'm not sure.", he replied. "Maybe... but then they sure wouldn't be any ordinary amalgamate. I mean...", he gave a nervous laugh. "Look at what they did, right?"

Both MK and Papyrus seemed really uncomfortable – probably remembering the nightmare the shadow thing had thrown them into. Frisk, too, was disturbed by what he had seen. He felt violated – like someone had just pried into his worst fears and memories.

"They told me...", began MK, looking at the ground, thoughtful. "They told me to 'join them'.", he looked at Frisk, the corners of his mouth forming a tiny smile. "If I hadn't heard you, man, I think I would've agreed... what do you think would have happened, then?"

A cold shiver passed through Frisk's spine. He didn't really want to think about that.

"Let's just be glad we didn't discover, ok?", he tried to laugh, but it sounded fake.

After all, they still needed to discover how Frisk could keep his memories across the resets – that was the reason they gave themselves the trouble of walking around the hidden laboratory. However, before that they needed to restore the energy by fixing the generator. The human turned around and walked towards the big machine by the back of the room.

"Let's see if we can bring the power back...", mumbled the human, kneeling down and seeing what he could do. Papyrus and MK were right behind him.

After defeating whatever the shadow thing was, fixing a generator seemed a bit too easy – so mundane it was almost relaxing. Frisk found a very conveniently built-in drawer in the generator, which contained various repair tools for him to use. It took several minutes, but the problem with the generator was as simple as replacing some wires. With his hands dirty from the oily insides of the machine, Frisk turned the generator back on – and with a loud noise, it began working. The lights flicked back to life, making all three of them squint their eyes with the sudden clarity.

"Unbelievable!", said MK, laughing. "How did you do this!?"

Frisk wiped his hands clean on the insides of his coat.

"You would know what to do if you paid attention to the things Barry told us in the prison.", he replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, excuse me, dude, but I couldn't pay attention to anything because we were about to _steal a freaking car_!"

Papyrus widened his eye sockets and looked from MK to Frisk in shock, his mouth half-open.

"STEAL A CAR? _WHAT_!?"

Only then Frisk noticed he had, somehow, omitted the fact he and MK tried to steal one of Leonard's vans back in the prison to come to Mt. Ebott. He told them Eileen helped him and the reptilian monster escape from the place with the pick-up truck – he just didn't explain _why_ she did that in the first place. Papyrus, at the time, was far too astonished with the surface picture to notice that.

"I'll, uh, explain later.", said Frisk, going a bit red. "C'mon, let's find that computer terminal again. I'm sure there are some good clues in there."

Papyrus glanced the human a weird look he tried to simply ignore – but they let the subject drop and, along with him and MK, walked back to the corridors of the hidden lab. Now that the lights were back on, casting a sick yellow light on the greenish walls, it was much easier to see where they were supposed to go.

They crossed paths again with the DT Extraction Machine – but with the lights on it didn't look nearly as eerie as it did in the dark. Finally, they reached the room with the huge computer terminal and, almost running, Frisk quickly approached it, holding his breath, and pressed the power button.

The monitor immediately turned on with a flashing white light – letters and symbols filling the screen. Frisk couldn't understand any of them, and could only hope that was just the initialization process and that the interface would become more user-friendly. MK and Papyrus were next to him, watching the computer turn on in a tension-filled silence.

To the human's relief, once the booting process was over, the interface was just as of any computer on the surface. Grabbing the mouse, he clicked on a little folder on the desktop called "Archives".

The file was a mess, with thousands of blueprints, spreadsheets and other folders tossed in there, disorganized. Perhaps Alphys, during her time as the royal scientist, didn't care much for organization and managed to find her way around in those files, but for Frisk, it was impossible to tell what could and could not be useful for him.

He opened some blueprints and written documents, but they only contained science-y stuff he didn't understand anything about – and of course, neither did MK or Papyrus. They browsed the PC in silence – from time to time one of them made a remark about a file (" _THIS LOOKS PROMISING... NEVERMIND, I DON'T GET IT ANYWAY_ "), but the minutes passed without any progress being made. Frisk was feeling his enthusiasm deflating quickly – so far, they hadn't found anything useful in terms of resets or how he could keep his memories across them. If they weren't stored in the computer, where else could they be?

Just as he was about to give up, he found a little mysterious folder called "Entries". Curious, he clicked on it, and his heart leaped when it lead to other two folders, one named "Alphys" and the other named "Sans". MK, who became bored, was sitting on the ground, looking absentmindedly at the door, but Papyrus let out a loud gasp when they saw the folders, making the reptilian monster stand up again, startled.

"What? What is it?", he asked, looking at Papyrus.

The skeleton pointed at the screen.

"SANS!", he replied, apparently unable to say anything else.

Frisk felt his palms sweaty. If his deductions were right, Sans had been able to keep their memories across resets – and apparently they even managed to bring material evidence with him, like that infamous photograph. If there was one place he'd find the answers he was looking for, it was in that folder. He rapidly lead the mouse button over the folder and clicked twice on it. The computer thought for a bit and...

" _Access denied. Please enter password._ "

The human let a frustrated sigh out. Papyrus and MK, too, looked disappointed.

"Maybe there's nothing really important in there, anyway...", suggested MK, though from his tone of voice he didn't really believe that.

"Sans wouldn't protect his jokes with a password.", Frisk replied in return.

"I THINK HE WOULD!"

"That's _not_ the point.", the human said, not in the mood for jokes. "Remember you told me he worked with the royal scientist in the 'time travel' project – which we now know referred to the timelines and resets? I bet there are things in there that explain how one could keep their memories, too..."

He couldn't be certain of that, of course, but there was a high probability what he was saying would turn out to be true – which made knowing the password all the more important. Papyrus, however, gave a big smile and snapped their fingers.

"YOU'RE RIGHT, HUMAN!", they said confidently. "BUT YOU KNOW WHO ELSE WAS WORKING WITH SANS AND THE ROYAL SCIENTIST AT THAT TIME? _ALPHYS_!"

Frisk's eyes lit up again – of course, how could he have forgotten that? Maybe they wouldn't need to open Sans' folder, after all. He guided the mouse to her folder and clicked twice. It instantly opened to a series of other files without requiring password permission, and the human let himself smile a little over that.

He clicked in the most recent entry to test if it opened. It did, but Frisk, instead of closing it and resuming his search, decided to read it.

It wasn't a happy note.

" _This is it for me. i didn't want things to end this way, but i just can't find any reason to keep going. i just wanted to free everybody, to make everyone happy, but the way things are, i know that a broken barrier just means a second war will happen. undyne is determined for it... and with everything i helped to create these past six years, monsters will have the upper hand, at least for a while. i knew it all along, but i chose to overlook that and kept trying to find a way to break the barrier and... and now, thousands of people, humans and monsters, are gonna die, and it's all my fault._

 _The amalgamates are gone. the barrier is broken, and it's just a matter of time before undyne announces it and they strike their first attack on the surface. i can't take part in this. i can't do this anymore. it may be coward, but i've finally reached my limit. i knew that would happen sooner or later._

 _I'm sorry, everyone. i hope you stay safe._ "

Frisk clenched his fists, suddenly feeling cold. Papyrus didn't even complete reading the note and just embraced himself, looking to the ground. MK was clearly shocked, his eyes wider than usual.

The three kept there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Frisk never imagined he'd read something like that – although on second thought, he should have expected. He knew of what had happened to Alphys before he read the note, after all.

Not saying a word, the human closed the document and resumed his search for something about timelines that Alphys could have written. He opened other files – most of which told the tragic tale of the failed experiment to use determination on monsters, some just about her being happy for being chosen as the royal scientist. It made Frisk's heart feel heavy – did she ever expect her job would lead her to such a terrible end?

But there was something weird with the files. At a certain point, all the files he opened gave an error message, saying they had been corrupted. Frisk frowned, trying to see the reason that would happen. He opened a more recent file once again, and it did so without problems. And then, it occurred to him...

"Most of the files before Alphys became the royal scientist are corrupted.", he announced.

MK squinted his eyes.

"Huh, that's weird...", he said, intrigued.

Frisk, however, knew that wasn't good for their search.

"The timelines experiment happened when Alphys was still a pupil.", he said, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know what to do..."

There was an extremely uncomfortable silence between the trio – only the lonely noise of the computer's coolers running filled the room. Frisk knew he was running out of options... what would he do if he didn't find a way to keep his memories for certain? He could always go for it anyway – but he knew MK and Papyrus wouldn't allow him that easily, and that would be the same as betraying their trust. No, he wanted to reset in the terms he said he would... but how?

"WE CAN ALWAYS TRY TO GUESS SANS' PASSWORD..?", said Papyrus, his tone of voice almost cheerful.

Frisk lifted his head from his hands once more. Of course they could try that, but was there even a point in doing so? He looked at Papyrus, however, and saw that confidence that only they were capable to inspire.

Well... it wasn't like there was anything else left to do.

Suppressing a sigh, Frisk returned to the main folder and lead the mouse to Sans' name. Looking at the computer screen, he felt something weird... like there was something missing there, something that should be together with Alphys and Sans' folders, but in the moment he couldn't really point out what it was.

" _Access denied. Please enter password."_

"Um, any guesses on what it could be?", asked MK.

No particular bright ideas were coming to Frisk's mind.

"Maybe it was his birthday?", he suggested.

"Nah, that's too stupid."

"WHICH MEANS IT'S PROBABLY SANS' PASSWORD!", commented Papyrus, his eyes fixed on the screen. "TRY THERE: APRIL 1ST!"

Frisk typed the date, but when he confirmed the little box flashed red and the password he typed was erased. Papyrus seemed genuinely impressed it was wrong.

"OH... MAYBE SANS WASN'T SO LAZY WITH PASSWORDS AS HE WAS WITH EVERYTHING ELSE, THEN!"

"What about _your_ birthday, Papyrus?", suggested MK.

Papyrus put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"WELL, IT COULD BE!", he concluded. "TYPE MARCH 20!"

Frisk typed it – and once again, the little box flashed red. Papyrus let out a groan.

But then, the human felt it... a familiar discomfort at the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation. _Something_... he could remember something... a bright hall with colored glasses, like a church, but not quite one. He could hear MK and Papyrus discussing other possible passwords behind him, but their voices sounded distant. Then, he slowly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and began typing.

When he confirmed, the little box flashed green and granted him access to Sans' folder. He felt MK and Papyrus astonished gazes on him.

"HOW DID YOU..?"

" _What_!? What did you type?"

Frisk's lips curled into a little smile as he glanced a look back to the two monsters.

"' _I am the legendary fartmaster_ '.", he replied. Papyrus made a movement similar to eye rolling, but smiled.

"UGH, SANS! ONLY _YOU_ COULD THINK OF SUCH A RIDICULOUS PASSWORD!"

"At least we have access to his files now.", commented MK. "Hope we can actually find something useful here..."

Sans folder had a lot less entries – and they were much more succinct in general. The last one, for example, consisted of a simple " _i'm out_ " – and the ones the short skeleton wrote just before that consisted mainly of bad jokes and puns.

The human searched for the earliest entries. The very first one was from a very excited Sans, in which he wrote how happy he was to be an official scientist in the lab. Most of the following, however, were unreadable, corrupted files, like the ones on Alphys' folder. One by one, the human opened them, his heart sinking a bit every time the message announcing the corrupted file appeared on screen. After what he thought to be the tenth corrupted file in a row, he was beginning to get desperate. He was sure those were about the timelines experiment, and if he couldn't read about them, he wouldn't have any clue on what to do. But then, one of the files opened.

" _all the entries with his name are corrupted. i can't save them._ "

Frisk stared at the message, feeling a headache starting to throb inside his head. _His_ name?

With a sinking feeling, Frisk remembered.

How could he have forgotten _them_? He made a promise to Sans he _wouldn't_ forget, didn't he?

MK looked at the message with squinted eyes.

"Well, now that's cryptic.", he said. "Who is Sans talking about?"

"He's... he's...", Frisk felt a sudden dizziness, like his own body was trying to prevent him to speak. "Dr. Gaster. The former royal scientist before Alphys, and her and Sans' tutor."

Papyrus and MK both stood silent for what seemed to be a very long time.

"I... I... _WHO_?", finally asked Papyrus, blinking in confusion.

"Gaster.", repeated Frisk.

Papyrus blinked and shook his head. MK did the same, and the two stared at the screen with indifferent expressions. Frisk looked from one to another, not understanding what was going on.

"Guys?", he said, bothered by their reaction. "What's up with you?"

MK looked at Frisk, intrigued.

"What do you mean, 'what's up with us'?", asked the reptilian monster. "It's _you_ who's been staring at this creepy message all this time."

Frisk opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say. He looked at Papyrus, who in turn looked at the human with a worried expression.

"Did you...", he began, not sure how to put what he wanted to say into words. "Did you just _forget_ what I said a second ago?"

MK frowned.

"You said something?", he asked, and Frisk could see he was genuinely confused with the human's questions.

Papyrus was a lot less subtle.

"DOES THAT MEAN I DOZED OFF? HOW RUDE OF ME! WHAT DID YOU SAY, HUMAN?"

Frisk looked from one monster to the other, unsure of how he should react, but decided to focus on the computer screen instead.

"Nevermind.", he replied, reluctantly.

As he closed the file, the human tried to make sense of what had just happened. As soon as he mentioned Gaster's name, both Papyrus and MK seemed to suffer instant amnesia. Frisk presumed that was the effect of being erased from time and space, but then, why didn't _he_ forget too? In fact, he could even remember the conversation he had with Sans about the former royal scientist. That was really disturbing to him, but again, he needed to focus on the search for how to keep his memories.

The following files weren't happy – the writing was sloppier (than usual) and full of grammatical errors, like Sans had been in a rush or not in his right mind when he wrote them. The notes were full of despair – Sans slowly realizing people were forgetting Dr. Gaster's existence, and that he too was forgetting. Some notes in between contained random remarks about his workplace or silly jokes, painting a very vivid image in Frisk's head. He could almost see a young Sans struggling to keep the memory of his tutor alive when everyone else was forgetting about them. And then, the human found a very interesting note.

" _alphys is thinking about applying to be the new royal scientist, just because she built that all-star tv robot of hers. she doesn't even remember we were supposed to be finding "him", but i can't blame her. nearly everyone forgot about "him" now, but i think there might be a way for me to remember "him". i just hope those blueprints didn't disappear, too."_

He barely read the note when he closed it and went to the next one.

" _found the blueprints – they just don't mention they were "his" blueprints, but other than that they are intact. it seems the timelines have trouble getting rid of physical evidence when adjusting themselves. yay for me."_

And the next one.

" _ok, this is what i've been looking for._

 _before the timeline project, "he" made some rudimentary experimentation on human souls, and discovered they all had a common substance: determination. the resolve to change fate. i remember he was still doing experiments with it when i joined him and alphys as a scientist, and i know monsters can't handle high amounts of determination, because it requires a lot of matter, and we are mostly made of magic. still, i wonder if i could use this determination to not forget him?_ "

The following notes were very technical, with Sans describing determination properties and trying to figure out how much he could take without it being dangerous. Later on, he came up with a simple formula to establish how much of the substance a monster could stand without major problems.

" _Not forget him..._ "

It was like someone had flicked a switch inside Frisk's brain.

"That's it...", he slowly said, his eyes widening. "This is how I can keep my memories! Determination!"

He looked to Papyrus and MK, who had been reading the notes quietly, beaming with excitement. MK looked at him, skeptical.

"Uh, dude? I think we've already established you're _very_ determined...", he began. "But here we are, anyway. Don't you think you wouldn't have forgotten your memories when you reset after setting everyone free if the answer was simply... determination?"

"Yeah, but this doesn't change the fact I managed to keep my memories through all the resets until then.", the human stated. "I don't know what happened for me to lose my memories – maybe the reset was too big. But then...", he said, glancing at the formula on the screen. "Maybe a determination boost is all I need."

With that, he opened the desk drawers and picked up some pencil and paper, proceeding to open the computer's calculator. He was reminded of school, before all that madness began. Frisk could say he was fairly good in math, although he never bothered studying before – which granted him some hard times during tests. He actually failed a year once, not because he was incapable, but because he didn't take school seriously enough. Making a mental note to value his studies more in the future, he began making the calculations.

It was fairly simple – he only needed to substitute the variables with his weight and height. He made the calculations three times, just to be sure he did it right, and dropped the pencil when he was done.

"Alright.", he said, looking at the paper, and then to the screen. "According to this, 15ml of extra determination is what's safe for me.", he glanced a look to MK and Papyrus. "Sans recommends using only the half of the limit, but I think it's okay to use it all since I'm human and can tolerate determination better."

MK looked at the screen, bitting his lip. He seemed to be unsure of that plan.

"Um... what happens if a human takes _too much_ determination?", he asked, looking hesitantly at Frisk.

Frisk frowned. He had never actually considered that.

"I don't know, but I don't think we melt or anything.", he gave a nervous laugh, trying to suppress the unsettlement he was feeling. MK _did_ have a point, after all.

Neither the reptilian monster nor the skeleton seemed to be entirely convinced of that, but Frisk knew he wasn't stopping. He had come too far to let a little bit of extra determination scare him.

"Just one last thing.", he said, as he opened the drawer to put the pencil back. He fiddled with the messy contents – if he could actually find one...

There it was – a flash drive. He picked it up and inserted on the computer. After some copy-and-paste procedures, he saved Sans' folder inside the drive. He took it out and tossed it inside his backpack.

"Uh... why are you doing this?", asked MK, curious.

Frisk wasn't entirely sure, either. It had something to do with Gaster – the thought of him forgetting the royal scientist scared him for some reason. Actually, maybe he was doing that more out of respect for Sans than the actual preservation of Gaster's memory – but in any case, he couldn't tell that to MK and Papyrus. They would simply forget it, anyway.

Then, he noticed what he just did. If he was planning a reset, _why_ did he bother saving the folder on a flash drive, when it would be lost after he did it? Well, it was possible to transport physical evidence across timelines – even if the human had no idea how to do that. He froze for a moment, feeling suddenly afraid.

"HUMAN?", hesitantly called Papyrus. "IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?"

The skeleton's voice brought the human back to reality.

"Yeah... yeah.", he replied. "Just fine. C'mon, I think I have an idea where they stored the determination samples."

With that, Frisk decisively walked out of the room – feeling MK and Papyrus exchanging a meaningful look by his back before following him. For a moment, he feared one of them would bring up the flash drive once again – but fortunately, that didn't happen. The trio walked in silence, their footsteps echoing through the cold corridors of the hidden laboratory, until they reached the infirmary. Frisk's eyes were immediately set on the cabinets and lab refrigerators by the corner. The human had a feeling that was the place where Alphys conducted the experiment that created the amalgamates – so it was very likely that he would find determination stored in there.

They walked past the beds and towards the cabinets. Where to start? Frisk opened one of them only to find various chemicals with a wide range of colors – but none of them had any labels.

"How are we supposed to know what determination looks like?", asked MK, looking at a particular foul-looking green substance.

"DR. ALPHYS MUST HAVE BEEN REALLY SMART IF SHE COULD TELL THOSE APART WITHOUT LABELS!", said Papyrus, holding two bottles in each hand – one colored a slightly brighter yellow than the other.

"Well, she _was_ the royal scientist...", mumbled MK, shifting his attention to the fridge.

Getting the hint, Frisk opened it. With the cold breeze that escaped from it, his attention was immediately caught by the small vials with a bright red substance inside them. It looked like blood... but not quite.

He picked one up and held it against the light. It glowed slightly, and Frisk felt the tip of the fingers he was using to hold the vial getting strangely warm – although the glass itself was covered in frost. From the corner of his eye, he saw MK looking fixed at the vial, turning pale. The human knew exactly what they were thinking – it wasn't the first time they had seen that substance. Neither was Frisk's.

"This is...", mumbled the reptilian monster, looking behind to see if Papyrus, who was busy searching the chemicals, wouldn't hear them. "Is _this_ what leaked out of Sans' body the day he died?"

Frisk nodded, feeling there was no room for doubt.

"It is.", he replied, taking a better look at the red liquid. "This... is liquid determination."

"OH, YOU FOUND..!", said Papyrus, approaching the human and the reptilian monster cheerfully – until he saw the bright, glowing red liquid inside the bottle and froze in place, his smile disappearing almost instantaneously. No doubt, he recognized the liquid – and the memory associated with it obviously wasn't a happy one.

Frisk and MK looked at each other – both of them aware of the implications of their recent discovery.

"Sans took this determination.", stated MK, matter-of-factly.

"And if we consider he remembered the resets...", added Frisk. "We are on the right track.", he looked at the vial once more. "No turning back, now."

The preparations for Frisk's determination injections took no longer than five minutes – enough time for them to fill three syringes with 5ml of the liquid each. Frisk began feeling a bit anxious – humans usually would never need to take liquid determination, so what he was about to do was totally unprecedented. He wondered, once again, if there was such a thing as too much determination for humans.

"I want you to apply it in me, Papyrus.", stated the human, and Papyrus widened his eyes.

" _ME_!? UH..."

"Listen, I wanted to do it myself, but I really don't know... if it hurts, or anything like that.", he continued, speaking the last part of the sentence quicker than the rest.

Papyrus became even more uncomfortable with that. If skeletons could sweat, he sure would be in that moment.

" _HURT_ YOU? BUT, HUMAN..!"

"I just feel it's better this way. And you saw me doing the calculations just before – so I know this quantity won't do me any lasting harm."

Frisk wasn't too sure about the last part – but then again, Sans had injected himself with determination before and had survived, and the human's chances were far higher than the short skeleton's. Papyrus, however, wasn't really convinced and looked to MK, seeking for help. The reptilian monster hesitantly intervened.

"Um... are you sure about this, man?"

Frisk looked at the two, annoyed.

"What's the problem with you two!?", he snapped. "We've come down here – we went through a lot of trouble on the surface, we walked across more than half of the Underground, we were attacked by those... _things_ earlier, just to give up now!? What do you want to do, then? Go back to the surface live that pitiful life, when we know we can end all of this right _here_ and right _now_?"

Papyrus looked to the ground, speechless. MK, however, stood Frisk's stare, although he too didn't say anything else, either.

Exasperated, the human looked at Papyrus, trying to ignore the hint of remorse he was feeling for his outburst.

It was all for the best.

"Please, Papyrus."

The skeleton looked at him straight in the eyes, clearly not wanting to be the one to apply the determination, but nodded. Frisk stretched his arm in front of the skeleton as they picked up the first syringe. He looked away – he didn't like needles.

A sting in the spot right opposite the elbow informed the human Papyrus had perforated his skin with the syringe. The subsequent warmth he felt in the region indicated they were injecting the bright red liquid into him. The warm sensation then expanded to the rest of his body – a rather pleasant feeling, actually.

Papyrus then removed the needle.

"HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"

"Not bad." the human replied. Papyrus seemed to be positively surprised. "Not bad at all."

The skeleton then picked the second syringe, and inserted it around the same spot. As Frisk felt the determination being injected into his blood, the warm sensation increased. Unintentionally, he shivered, and Papyrus stopped injecting halfway through.

"ARE YOU OKAY?", they asked, their voice abnormally tense.

Frisk nodded, energetic.

"Yes, I'm fine.", he said, perhaps too quickly for it to be normal. "Please go on."

Papyrus seemed to be having doubts about that, but injected what remained of the second syringe into the human's body. Frisk closed his eyes – something he immediately regretted. He saw colors and shapes flashing and twirling, leaving him dizzy when he opened them again. He was feeling too warm – almost feverish – but didn't say anything.

Just one more syringe to go.

Almost nonchalantly, Papyrus pierced Frisk's skin with the last syringe and began injecting the determination.

Apparently, that was too much.

The human felt way too hot, and his arm was beginning to hurt. He felt his heartbeats increase, and a sudden pain in his stomach made him double up, retreating his arm from Papyrus' reach. The skeleton stepped back, panicked, and the reptilian monster approached.

"E-easy, man. Easy...", he said, his voice shaky, trying desperately not to panic. "Papyrus, let me help him sit, quick!"

Frisk's only concern, however, was the fact the other two monsters wouldn't finish injecting the determination – and the human needed it _all_. So, in a sudden move, he grabbed the syringe, which was still stuck in his arm, and pressed it, injecting the last milliliters of determination inside his body.

" _Dude_ , what the hell are you doing!?", asked MK, scandalized. "Stop! Papyrus, stop him!"

It was too late for them, however. Feeling as if he was standing inside a volcano, he removed the needle and tossed it away. His put his hand on his chest, feeling an immense pain in there – was he having a heart attack? His limbs felt numb, and as he stumbled forward without direction, his vision blurred inconsistently, like an old television having problems tuning in.

He fell on his fours, breathing heavily. He had the faint notion of MK and Papyrus next to him in powerless shock. His whole body was shaking, and his skin felt hot and slimy, giving him the sensation he was melting. With his insides turning, he threw up – and what came out of him was a disgusting pulp slightly red in color.

Then, he felt extremely light – almost like he was floating away, leaving his body behind. In that blissful moment, he wondered if he had died.

It didn't last long – the pain came back in full force. He threw up more, every part of his body aching, his heart beating insanely fast inside his chest. He closed his eyes, seeing shapes and colors take more definite forms. He could hear sounds too – Papyrus and MK's screams of agony. Or were they his own?

And then, he was somewhere else.

He was in a beautiful garden. A furry hand held his own – reminding him of Toriel, although the monster who held his hand was much shorter and younger than Toriel.

" _It's me... your best friend!_ "

The scene shifted. He was inside a big house now, running and laughing. His brother was running too. They were playing tag – happy and oblivious to the world above, which was quite expected from children.

" _Don't you have anything better to do?_ "

Frisk opened his eyes – no longer feeling feverish, his heart beating at a normal, steady pace; no part of his body in pain. Actually, he felt great and revitalized, almost like he just had a good night of sleep. And he wondered if he indeed had slept, as he found himself on a bed, staring at the ceiling. Papyrus must have put him in one of the infirmary's beds. Weird... he didn't remember passing out.

He sat up – feeling a brief, sharp pain in his head, making him flinch. He closed his eyes for that moment, and he saw... he saw complete darkness, except for one thing: a goat monster with a green and yellow striped t-shirt, the stature of a child.

Who was that? Was he hallucinating?

No... as he opened his eyes again, the pain leaving his head – he knew what had happened. He had remembered.

He had _truly_ remembered everything.

"HUMAN..?", he heard Papyrus call with a drowsy voice. They were sat on a bed next to him. "HUMAN!", they repeated, standing up and walking towards him. "MK! THE HUMAN WOKE UP!"

Before Frisk knew it – MK and Papyrus were both sat next to him in the bed, saying they didn't believe he was actually alive and that he had scared them to death. Frisk looked from one to the other in silence, waiting for them to stop. He was still distraught by what he had just remembered.

"How long have I slept?", asked Frisk when the infirmary fell silent once more.

MK looked at him, and Frisk noticed the bags under their eyes.

"I don't know, man... maybe ten or twelve hours?", they said, unsure. "Papyrus and I took shifts looking after you."

Frisk felt his heart sinking.

" _Twelve_ hours?", he repeated. That was way too much time.

Papyrus wrapped his arm around Frisk's shoulder in a comforting manner, but the human could feel the tension he was feeling.

"UM... HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"

Both monsters looked at him apprehensively, like they were expecting him to enter in spontaneous combustion at any moment.

"I'm okay.", the human replied simplistically.

"Do you feel anything... different?", nervously asked MK.

It was a reasonable question – after almost overdosing himself with determination, it was to be expected he would feel something... maybe a little more determined, at least. But...

"I just feel really well rested.", he stated, looking at his hands. During his feverish state, he thought he saw his skin turning red, but now it was back to its normal color. "And..."

Of course that wasn't all – he had just remembered something really important. How the determination injections played a part in that, Frisk had no idea – but they did anyway. For a moment, he wondered if he should tell them, but that doubt didn't last long in his mind. Of course he needed to tell them – after coming all that way with him, they did deserve to know the truth. Even if it would hurt.

"I remember now.", he slowly said, looking to the ground. "Why we're here. Why I reset."

It was like the whole atmosphere of the laboratory changed. It got colder – a sad, lonely kind of cold – and the tension rocketed. Papyrus slowly retreated his hand from Frisk's shoulder, and the human could feel his gaze on him, expectantly waiting for the explanation. MK didn't have any visible reaction – but perhaps they weren't too sure how to react to that in the first place.

Nobody pressed the human to start, but Frisk could tell they were just waiting. He stood up and gave a few steps, his back facing the two monsters. It was a complicated story – he was trying to find the right words to tell it.

"Asriel Dreemur."

He could feel the confusion those words made in Papyrus and MK's heads, even though he wasn't facing them.

"Who?", asked MK.

"DREEMUR...", mumbled Papyrus. Of course that name would ring a bell. "BUT THAT WAS... THE PRINCE, RIGHT? QUEEN TORIEL AND KING ASGORE'S CHILD."

"Hey, you're right...", agreed MK, sounding as if he remembered something. "But... he died a long, long time ago. What does he have to do with this?"

With a deep breath, Frisk turned around to face the other two – their expressions brimming with anticipation, eager for him to tell what was that all about.

And he told them the tragic story of Asriel Dreemur. How they died after attempting to break the barrier by fusing their soul with the first fallen child. How they were revived – sort of – by Alphys' experiments with determination. How they abandoned their old identity and embraced a new one – Flowey, the sociopathic flower that caused Frisk so much trouble. How, in a previous timeline, they plotted to absorb the souls of all monsters from the Underground to turn back to their former self. How, against all odds, Frisk saved them and made them see the wrongs they had done.

"The last time I saw him, just a little before I took everyone else to the surface...", explained Frisk. "He told me... without a soul, he'd turn back into a flower once more – unable to feel anything for others."

Papyrus was embracing himself, looking pitifully to the ground. MK's expression was a lot harder to read – Frisk couldn't tell if they were sad, angry, a mixture of both, or something else entirely.

" _That's_ why I reset...", he continued, struggling to keep his voice calm, his mouth suddenly dry. "I wanted to save him too. I thought I could save him if I did something different, but... I didn't predict I'd lose my memories. That was my mistake. That's why things are the way they are now. I'm sorry."

He turned around once more, finding himself suddenly afraid of looking to the monsters' faces. He didn't want to look and find grudge in them. Frisk was finally aware of all the consequences of his decisions in everyone's lives. If not for him, so many people would still be alive – Toriel, Sans, MK's parents, Chris...

And that made him feel something weird inside – a growing sensation in his chest, a sense of duty he had never felt before. It was _his_ responsibility to fix his mistakes, and he was going to do so, even if it was the last thing he did.

More than ever, he was filled with determination.

"But I'm gonna do it right this time.", he said, his voice firm and steady. "I'm gonna do one last reset and bring everyone to the surface. We _will_ have our happy ending."

Frisk knew not all of them would have it – Asriel would be left behind. But now, the human understood they couldn't be saved – they were doomed from the start, and there was nothing he could do about it. That was what he failed to see six years before.

"No."

Frisk turned around, looking confused at the reptilian monster, who had finally spoken up. They were staring at the human with a contorted expression. MK had never looked at him in such way. Nevertheless, he looked them straight in the eyes, not daring to look away.

"What do you mean?", asked Frisk, after some tense-filled seconds.

"I'm not gonna let you reset after this, Frisk."

MK's expression was fierce – they really did mean what they said. The human gave a step back, a wave of anger passing through his body. What did they mean, "they weren't going to let him reset"?

"I didn't force you through this.", he stated, plainly. "You can leave anytime you want."

The reptilian monster gave a dry laugh.

"Frisk, you really... _really_ are not getting the point here.", replied MK. "I mean... _god_ , you reset everything because of _one_ monster!? Even worse, a monster you knew and talked for _five_ minutes!?"

The human opened his mouth, but closed it again, not sure of what to say. He'd have preferred if the monster had impaled him with one of their magical spears – it would have hurt less than this. Meanwhile, Papyrus looked at the two with bated breath.

"It was unfair.", said the human.

"And forcing everyone else back to the Underground _is_ fair?", questioned MK, their gaze more piercing than ever. "This only proves you're bound to make the same mistakes – keeping your memories or not!"

"Well, I'm sorry if I care about others..."

"Care about others? C'mon, Frisk!", the reptilian monster said in disbelief. "Just because you keep telling yourself that's the reason you want to reset, it doesn't make it true! No – you're resetting to save _yourself_! You are overcome with guilt and think that resetting will somehow ease your pain. Well, guess what, this is _exactly_ why you're feeling guilty in the first place!"

Papyrus, seeing the situation was getting out of control, finally stood up, attempting to intervene.

"HUMAN, MK... C'MON, LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS CALMLY... IT'S BEEN A LONG DA-"

"You must be crazy too, then.", stated Frisk – not without a hint of malice in his voice. His anger boiled inside his skin. "I know this isn't the first time you think that of me, but you put up with everything and got this far... and now you want to to do what, turn back?"

"C'MON, GUYS... YOU SHOULDN'T BE FIGHTING, YOU'RE FRIENDS..."

"Oooh, maybe you're right!", said MK, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe I am crazy! No, scratch that – I'm _fucking_ insane! If I weren't, I'd have pointed out this goddamn god-complex of yours and tried to stop you before we even reached Mt. Ebott!"

"I didn't want things to come at this, okay!?", yelled Frisk, his voice echoing through the infirmary.

"Then stop with this non-sense already! You can't reset thing every time you don't like the outcome!"

The human clenched his fists, fighting the urge to jump at the yellow monster and beat them. Papyrus must have sensed this, because he put himself in between them. Instead, Frisk looked around, glancing at the infirmary exit for a moment. MK said they would try to stop him – and they seemed eager to keep their word in that matter. Waiting things to calm down would probably be a bad idea if the human really wanted to carry his plan on.

He looked at his backpack, which was tossed by the side of the bed. His handgun and flashlight were there, but to get it he'd have to pass by Papyrus and MK, and they weren't going to let him – not in the way things were.

He was running out of options.

With a quick turn, he ran away, speeding up towards the infirmary exit.

"N-no, he's getting away!", yelled MK. "Stop him!"

And stop him they tried – not only by chasing him, but also with their magic. Papyrus summoned bones on the floor to make him trip and fall and MK launched spears at his ankles' height in an attempt to knock him down.

But Frisk managed to dodge all that – which genuinely surprised him. Even if he considered himself good at dodging, he never jumped and rolled with such precision before without getting hit once – even managing to keep speeding forward after that. He wondered if those were the effects of the extra determination on his body – the determination that had always fueled him, and now helped him to reach his ultimate objective.

He knew where he was going. The other elevator in the hidden lab – the one that was directly connected to New Home.

Somehow, he managed to find it easily – even though he ran more by instinct than actual knowledge. Once he did, he had a fair advantage over the reptilian monster and the skeleton – although they approached fast. Frisk pressed the button and watched as the visor above indicated it was getting closer.

"C'mon, c'mon!", mumbled Frisk, watching MK and Papyrus getting dangerously close.

30 feet... 15 feet...

With a "ding", the elevator doors opened, and Frisk slipped inside, quickly pressing the button to close the doors several times – as if that would actually make the doors close faster. He caught a glimpse of Papyrus stopping in front of the elevator, almost putting his hand in the gap between the doors and...

The doors closed. Spotting a key fitted in a keyhole inside the elevator, he had a sensation he should turn it – and he did.

That must have activated a locking mechanism, because Frisk could hear them pressing the button outside, but the doors didn't open. The human leaned his back on the elevator wall, and soon enough he heard bangs in the door.

"Frisk!" MK's muffled voice sounded from outside. "Open this door now!"

"HUMAN... PLEASE...", Frisk heard Papyrus' voice, which was strangely shaken. "I... I DON'T LIKE THIS PLAN ANYMORE... PLEASE, LET'S TALK THIS THROUGH..."

Frisk let out a long, shaky sigh, trying to ignore the tightness in his throat. He never, _ever_ imagined things would come to that. He felt hurt and betrayed.

" _Goddammit_ , Frisk!", MK kicked the elevator's doors with force. "This is not fair!"

But among all those negative feelings, he also felt determined. Even in that circumstances, his wish to reset was stronger than everything – it was the force that pushed him forward. He walked towards the panel, hearing MK and Papyrus banging the doors.

"I'm doing this... for you, too.", he said, too low for them to listen.

He pressed the button labeled "New Home" – and the sudden pressure change in his ears informed him he was getting away from the hidden lab. That, and the fact he could no longer hear Papyrus and MK's pleas on the outside.

For the first time in a long, long time, Frisk was truly alone.


	18. Game Over

He cried.

As the elevator went up, Frisk sat on the floor and put his head between his knees, fighting the tears that were inevitably coming out – but that was a battle already lost before it even began. There was no reason for him to hold back, anyway. His loud sobs were the only thing hearable besides the humming noise the elevator made.

" _You're resetting to save yourself!_ "

MK's words filled him with anger. They had been unfair to him – he _did_ want to save others... but they weren't completely wrong, either. Perhaps Frisk's biggest motivation to reset was indeed to bring himself some peace of mind. So what? He deserved to be happy too, didn't he?

That thought didn't make him feel any better – he was still about to face the unknown all alone. If not for the determination he felt in his heart, he wouldn't find the strength to keep going.

 _BOOM_!

The elevator stopped violently, making Frisk almost hit his head hard against the wall. He looked up, startled – did the elevator break down? That couldn't have happened. How would he get out of there?

Before he could even start panicking, the elevator shook in an unexpected way – almost as if it was plunging forward. Breathing fast, the human backed to a corner, trying to keep himself stable as his surroundings shook and vibrated.

And then, it resumed going up, just like before.

What was going on? Feeling the change of pressure in his ears, Frisk slowly stood up, looking around. The lights flickered, and for a moment he feared they would fail and he would be in the dark – the last thing he wanted in that situation.

One, two, three minutes passed... Frisk's breath was barely making any noise as he kept still with tension. He didn't trust that elevator anymore – he just wanted to reach New Home at once and get out of there.

Then, he felt the elevator reducing speed, until it came into a halt with a soft bump. The doors opened with a distinctive " _ding_ ", casting its light inside the dark corridor that appeared in front of it.

He wasn't in New Home.

With a tightness in his throat he couldn't actually explain, he stepped out of the elevator – not without turning the key inside once more so it wouldn't leave. He did that partially so that he could see a little with the elevator's light inside the corridor, and partially because he didn't want MK and Papyrus coming after him.

He took some uncertain steps forward. The place was damp and dirty, indicating it had been abandoned for quite some time – but that wasn't what made Frisk's hair stand on its end. No – it was the nervous sensation on his stomach, only this time it wasn't because he was remembering something, but because he _couldn't_ remember anything about the place he was in.

This was new. And possibly dangerous.

The corridor was made of nothing but stone, and there was a sharp turn to the left up ahead, meaning the elevator's light would be useless in there. There was a foreboding feeling in the air, like the walls were trying to tell him to turn back and go away.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't an option.

Armed with nothing but what still remained of his courage (and fairly high amounts of determination), he set off.

As soon as he took the sharp turn, his surroundings only got more and more dark – until he couldn't see anything. With his heart thumping hard against his chest, he walked slowly, making sure the ground in front of him was actually solid before proceeding.

It took a while until his vision got used to the darkness – which wasn't much use, but at least made him see the outlines of the walls. That would make things a little less disorientating.

The sounds of his lonely footsteps in the darkness were a constant reminder for Frisk – he was _alone_ , and he was about to reach his reset _alone_. There wasn't anything wrong with it – it had been his mission, his wish. The responsibility to reset was his, and not anybody else's.

After what seemed to be ten minutes of walking, the corridor began to open, and Frisk found himself unable to see the walls anymore – but he was seeing something else. He walked to what seemed to be vertical lines raising from the ground, and hesitantly passed his hands through them.

His heart leaped – those were metal bars... just like the ones used on prison cells. He walked alongside the bars, trying to make out anything that could be on the other side, but it was too dark.

Nevertheless, Frisk was certain those were prison cells – he had enough experience to recognize it when he saw one, after all. Was he in a prison of sorts, perhaps?

Actually, maybe prison wasn't the right word for it – _dungeon_ was a more fit option.

A sudden cold sensation passed through his spine. Why did the elevator take him there instead of New Home?

He moved forward – attentive in case there were any sounds around him besides his footsteps and his shaky breath. Somehow, the eerie silence from the place made Frisk feel even worse. This prison – no, this _dungeon_... nothing good could have happened here. Those cells, those walls, and even the ground were witnesses of horrible things – the human was sure of it.

 _Click_.

He stopped, his heart beating violently hard against his chest. The clicking noise, like of something being unlocked, sounded just above his head. Frisk looked up, and only then he noticed how low the ceiling was.

A weird thought formed in his mind. Uncertainly, he raised his hands until his palms touched the ceiling, his elbows slightly flexed. He pushed it and...

It slid open.

The light that entered the dungeon was blinding – specially after spending so much time in pure darkness. He averted his eyes, blinking until they got used to the sudden clarity. Then, he looked up once again. He was bathed in a mixture of golden and orange lights, which made him feel warm somehow, almost like he was outside, by the sunlight.

Those lights were all he needed for him to be sure of where he was.

He jumped a few times until he grabbed a ledge and pulled himself upward, and out from that dungeon. For a moment, he lied face down on the ground, feeling the cold floor against his face and hands.

He was in the last corridor. It had stayed the same over the past six years – the big and beautiful colored-glasses still casting that characteristic orange and golden lights over the place. It was unique and different from everything else in the Underground – which was why it was imprinted so vividly in Frisk's mind.

As he stood up, looking around, he found himself almost expecting to see a shadow from a certain someone standing against one of the pillars, like they had so many times in so many different timelines. Each time, they had something different to say. That they believed in him. That the fate of humans and monsters lied upon him.

But in the end, nothing they had to say really mattered – as long as Frisk had been honest with himself.

He glanced a look back to the passage he just came through – a trapdoor of sorts. Never had he imagined that beneath that corridor there was a dungeon. Or maybe it really _didn't_ by the time of his first journey through the Underground, and was just another unfortunate change to the place after he left.

He slid the stone back to cover the hole in the ground. It fit perfectly – and if he hadn't come through it, he'd have been none the wiser.

With a last look to the colored glasses, he set off to the throne room – his footsteps echoing alone through the corridor. He began feeling something different inside his chest – a growing excitement that made him walk faster. He was getting closer to the reset. Not even when he left the colorful corridor and entered the gray setting that was New Home he felt his excitement fade away.

He was scared too, of course. The reset... Frisk was not unfamiliar with it, but it was still so mysterious. How did it work? What if something went wrong? What if – and that was what the human feared the most – he had the same fate of Dr. Gaster, who was erased from time and space and now was maybe dead, maybe alive, but surely forgotten by almost everyone?

But he was too determined to give up. Perhaps he was too determined for his own good, but he didn't care.

He found himself just outside the throne room, looking absentmindedly at the arched entranceway that lead to it. He could remember his ten-year-old self standing right there six years before, terrified at the prospect of having to fight Asgore, then king of the Underground. In a sense, the situation wasn't that different – he was terrified now too, although for another reason entirely.

The throne room itself was another place that seemed to have frozen in time – the garden of flowers was somehow kept tidy, and the big throne in the middle of the chamber stood there as mighty as ever. A few rays of sun seeped in from the outside through some cracks in the mountain, giving the place a mystical feeling, like a scene taken straight out from a fairytale.

Frisk tried to picture Undyne in the throne room. He had some trouble doing that – everything in there, from the flowers to the throne itself, screamed Asgore's name. In fact, the human still remembered vividly meeting the former ruler of the Underground in there, watering his flowers and making small talk until he noticed Frisk was actually a human.

He crossed the room, for some reason taking care not to step on the flowers. It was silly – everything was going to be reset, right? So it wasn't like that really mattered. Still, it felt wrong for him to simply not to care. Maybe that timeline was about to end, but that didn't make it any less real.

Perhaps, in the end, the fact he cared was a good thing.

He reached the gray corridor that linked the throne room and to the very end of the Underground – where the barrier used to be. Frisk felt all his emotions rocketing inside him – his fears, his hopes and dreams, his determination.

When he finally found himself in front of the entranceway to the final chamber of the Underground, he truly realized it.

 _He made it_. After everything he went through, after all the problems and struggles, he was there. The reset was just a few feet away.

He could see the exit, bathed in a blinding white light that was too bright to be just from the sun. His heart began beating faster, and he had the surreal sensation of feeling his blood running through his veins, his forehead dripping with sweat. That was it. The place where the barrier once stood – now broken – but still holding that mysterious power of the reset. A power which had been granted to him, for some reason, and it was time to finally make things right.

The human shivered, and looked back at the gray corridor behind him, expecting maybe to see Papyrus and MK reaching him, pleading him to stop. He looked down, saddened. Without the two monsters by his side, there was nothing else for him in that timeline to return for. The ones he trusted the most didn't trust in him anymore. There was no place for him to return. No place to call home; no one to rely upon anymore.

He could only move forward – or, in that case, backward.

Looking once again to the blinding light beyond the room in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a new kind of nervousness installing in his heart.

" _You're bound to make the same mistakes!"_ , MK's voice tauntingly echoed through Frisk's head.

He clenched his fists. He _wouldn't_ make the same mistakes. He would get it right this time. He was determined to do so.

Feeling something he couldn't quite describe, he set his eyes on the horizon and began walking towards the light – entering the final room. He hadn't given even ten steps when he began walking faster, and then running. The white light was beginning to surround him – the outlines of the room were disappearing, and he felt a pleasant warmth against his skin.

That was his call. His destiny.

"So you've came."

Frisk stopped suddenly – all the determination melting away from his body, giving place to a cold fear. That voice... it couldn't be...

He slowly turned around, and behind him, standing a few feet away... was Undyne.

Oddly enough, the white light retreated – not completely, but considerably, and Frisk could see the dark outlines of the chamber once more. He still had the vague sensation of the warmth the light gave behind his back, but it surely had diminished.

The empress of monsters looked like anything but that. She wore very casual clothing – which closely resembled the outfit she wore in the picture taken from the timeline Frisk saved everyone. Her hair was about shoulder length – longer since the last time they met, but not long enough to make the ponytail the human was sort of used to seeing in her.

He opened his mouth, but was so shocked he couldn't say anything. He had thought she was on the other side of the region – far away from Mt. Ebott. What was she doing in the Underground?

The empress stood there with her arms crossed, a strange expression in her face. It wasn't anger, nor hate, not even fierceness. It was... something else. It reminded Frisk of someone, but he couldn't exactly recall who.

"It's over.", she said, looking to the ground.

Frisk was still too astonished to reply. It took some moments for him to realize she hadn't attacked him, nor menaced him, which struck him as odd. Didn't Undyne want him dead? Didn't the hate she felt for him – and, by extension, for all humankind – motivate that whole war? What was she waiting for? He was there in front of her – an unarmed, skinny teenager that, save for a few self-defense moves, didn't know any real hand-to-hand combat.

"Wha... what's over?", he babbled, almost idiotically.

Undyne quickly looked back straight into his eyes, that old fierceness back in her expression for a brief moment.

"What do you think, punk!?", she exclaimed. "The war.", she added, in a rather bitter tone.

The human's head spun with the answer. Had he heard that right?

"The... war?", he repeated, not daring to believe in her so readily. "But... why?"

He thought about the monster attack on the prison, about a month prior. Things were supposed to still be even to both sides, right? So technically, monsters weren't losing.

It was only then he realized who Undyne's expression reminded him of – _Asgore_. The face of someone that carried a terrible burden, of someone divided between doing their duty or doing what they believed in. The resemblance was uncanny.

"You... didn't lose. Yet.", Frisk said, feeling his hands cold. "How can the war be over?"

The empress gave a dry, emotionless snort.

"I _wish_ we had lost, punk.", she replied.

Frisk gulped. There was something in her tone of voice that indicated danger, but the human stood his ground.

"No... I realized...", she said, with a restrained anger. "We, monsters, became something different. We became... like... _you_!"

Her voice trembled ever so slightly, and Frisk had to hold himself to not give a step back. Showing weakness in front of Undyne wasn't a wise decision.

"We were supposed to battle _for the surface_!", she said, her voice getting louder with each word. "We were supposed to defeat _you_! Humans! We weren't... we weren't supposed to hurt each other... we weren't supposed to _kill for fun_! We weren't... we..."

There were tears streaming down Undyne's face, and she wiped them with a harsh move. Frisk felt his heart sinking – he knew exactly what she meant. His thoughts immediately wandered to the incident that happened at the cabin in the woods, months earlier, with Bonnie, Berna and Boone. It was there he realized for the first time that maybe monsters were capable of evil... of things worse than just killing.

"When I realized that...", continued Undyne, snapping Frisk out of his thoughts. "I... I turned a blind eye to it. I thought it was a little price to pay for the surface. I tried to hold on – until I couldn't. Too many of us were dying – by the hands of humans... and by our own hands, too. About two months ago, I called my troupes to retreat back to the Underground."

Frisk's stomach burned with a sick sensation. Over the past months, he learned the war could bring out the best – or the worst – in people. And he had lived plenty of situations in which monsters were acting on their worst intentions. If Undyne herself was realizing that, things had surely gotten too far – to the point she simply couldn't ignore it anymore.

"Of course...", Undyne began, her lips curling into a bitter smile. "While the ones who remained loyal to me... who remained _good_... got back here like I commanded, a lot of monsters ignored me, and continued to cause chaos on the surface. They continued their killing spree... completely forgetting _why_ we began this war on the first place. That's why... a few days ago, I deactivated the shields."

The human just stared in shock as Undyne pointed to a pile a few feet away from her – her old armor, source of her power, trashed and destroyed. Frisk had been so taken aback by the situation he hadn't noticed it before.

He felt his heart almost jumping out of his mouth. The shields were deactivated... which meant that it was only a matter of time before human technology on the region began working again and reinforcements arrived. Which would inevitably lead to...

"This means you have won the war." Undyne sharply added. "Aren't you happy?"

Frisk... he didn't know how he felt. He should have been happy with the news – the war was over, wasn't it? And even if he was going to reset everything, a very complicated question sprouted in the back of his mind.

What would happen next in this timeline?

And as he looked Undyne in the eyes again, he wondered if she knew about all that. About the resets – about the moment that infamous photograph was taken.

"And after all that...", she suddenly said. "You still have the courage to show up here! The Underground... is monsters' last safe haven! And even then, I don't know for how much longer. So...", she gritted her teeth, shaking with anger. "Why did you come back here, punk!?"

The way the empress looked at him, Frisk was sure there was no answer that would change her mind... that would make her see he was never ill-willed against monsters. Normally, with all the aggressiveness she spoke at him, the human would have felt defiant – but now... now he was only sad.

"Because of my past, I guess.", Frisk replied simplistically. That was extraordinarily true, even if Undyne wouldn't get it.

She looked down in a way the human couldn't see her face, and he had a strange déjà-vu sensation.

"You know we'll have to fight, right?", she said, apparently struggling to keep her voice from shaking.

Somehow, Frisk knew this was coming – but what was more strange, perhaps, was the fact he didn't feel any fear from it. Only sorrow.

"Why?", he asked, his tone of voice hopeless.

"Because it's meant to be.", she replied. "You and I... are destined to fight. I saw it in my dreams."

A weird shiver passed through Frisk's back, like a million tiny little ants were walking over there.

"We don't have to.", he mumbled, looking down.

"You don't get a say in this.", she said, still looking at the ground. "Everything else went wrong... but at least I can get my revenge. What happens next... won't matter anymore."

Frisk looked up just in time to see Undyne raising her hand in the air – grabbing a glowing blue spear she had conjured. With a swift movement, she threw it at him – but Frisk quickly dodged by rolling to the side.

Undyne had years of military training on her back – Frisk only got his determination to help him out. It was time to know which would lead to victory.

The empress didn't lose any time and attempted to shoot the human with her green magic. As that would probably leave Frisk in a tough spot, he did his best to run away from it. Like dodging Papyrus and MK's attacks before, he pulled that out fairly easily (but not unsurprisingly). After a while, Undyne stopped, panting. Shooting her magic out like that obviously tired her– and it was Frisk's turn to counterattack.

Or "counteract".

"Undyne, can't you see this is pointless?", he asked.

She gave a hollow laugh, holding her hand clenched in a fist with the other.

"I don't care if it's pointless, as long as by the end of this you're DEAD!"

With a loud battle cry, she ran at him, summoning another spear on her right hand on the way. When she was near enough, she slashed her spear against the human several times, but he dodged them all – ducking, rolling, jumping.

"Why are you still on your feet!?", she exclaimed, charging at him.

Frisk wasn't even tired. While he could sense Undyne was only getting more and more worn out, the human felt just as prepared as he did when she first attacked.

He dodged her attack by spinning to the side – and, more automatically than actually planned, he aimed a kick at the back of her knee. Undyne lost balance and kneeled to the floor, grasping her spear so tightly Frisk could see the veins popping out of her arm.

Chris would have been proud.

"You're not so wimpy anymore, huh?", she mumbled, slowly standing up and turning around to face the human once more.

"I've learned a thing or two."

She charged again – Frisk dodged again. She then summoned several spears that chased him down – he ran as fast as he could and the spears shattered behind him as they hit the ground.

They were separated by several feet – Undyne was panting again, holding her hand against her chest.

"I'm not your enemy, Undyne!", Frisk said loudly.

"Shut up!", she hissed, looking extremely angry. "You destroyed everything! This is all _your_ fault!"

She summoned another spear in front of him – but he didn't even have to run to dodge it and simply leaned to the side as it passed. He looked briefly to the end of the room – where the white light still shone. He could make a run for it and Undyne would be none the wiser... but, for some reason, he wanted to give that timeline a proper ending. He wanted to make the empress listen.

And then it hit him.

He found himself glued to the ground – he could only turn around the same spot.

 _Green magic_.

"Ha!", exclaimed Undyne, pleased, summoning a wave of spears and throwing them at him.

 _No_!

Feeling as if he was breaking a glass dome placed around him, Frisk jumped to the front – nearly missing the spears that were shot at him.

" _What_!?"

He stood up quickly to find Undyne with a very confused expression a few feet away from him. Of course – he had broken free of her green magic all by himself, using nothing but his will, his determination.

However, the empress wasn't used to her attacks all failing her. Seeing the human breaking from her special attack like that made her go completely berseck. She ran at him, this time armless, her expression showing nothing but pure rage.

"DIE ALREADY!", she screamed.

She attempted to punch and kick him using various fighting techniques, but Frisk just jumped and dodged them. Actually, he had the impression she actually hit him sometime, but he stood his ground. It was like his body had turned into iron.

"WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!?", with each word, she threw a punch. She was completely out of control.

Meanwhile, Frisk's mind raced. He needed an opening...

And then, Undyne pulled her arm back, ready to punch him straight on the face – but before she could complete the movement, Frisk advanced and pushed her back with all the strength he had. The empress stumbled backwards as she missed the punch, and the force from the move made her lose balance and fall to the ground, standing on all fours.

Some dreadful seconds passed in which Undyne just stayed there, looking down, and the human thought she was about to lunge at him – until he noticed her shoulders were shaking. It was like a cascade of cold water had descended into his stomach.

She was crying.

She was there, powerless, sobbing loudly. Frisk felt sorry for her – after everything turned out wrong in that war, defeating the human was the only thing left for her. And realizing she couldn't do that finally broke her apart.

Now, it was time to pick up the pieces.

"I-I don't g-get it...", she stuttered between the sobs, as Frisk approached. "H-how are you still alive? _Why_ are you still alive?"

The human took a deep breath. He felt his muscles becoming sore and achy from all the running and dodging – his tiredness was finally beginning to catch up.

"Over the past months, I wondered that myself.", he replied. "Until I learned... humans are very, _very_ determined."

He offered Undyne his hand and she looked up, the tears rolling down her face strangely shiny.

"Why are you doing this?", she asked, shaking her head. "Why are you still trying to talk to me?"

"Because I'm determined to end this on a positive note."

Undyne squinted her eyes. She didn't seem angry anymore – in fact, she almost looked at Frisk with a restrained fascination.

" _End_ this..?"

He glanced a quick look to the exit of the Underground – the white light seemed to be regaining its strength, its blinding brightness slowly beginning to fill the room once more.

"Yes. Before I start things over.", he said. "Maybe then, we can get a better ending."

The empress looked at the hand the human offered, her expression frowned.

"You say a lot of pretty things that don't make any sense.", she mumbled. "But, y'know what?"

She snatched Frisk's hand (which almost made him fall to the ground), and he pulled her up. They stood in front of each other – Undyne considerably taller than him.

"So what are you gonna do, now?", she asked.

Frisk cast another look to the white light, which was at almost the same force it was when he first entered the room.

"To the exit.", he said, looking back at the empress. "Then you won't hear from me again."

At least, not in that timeline. Undyne stared at him with a weird expression – was it pity? Or guilt? Did she sense, deep in her heart, there was a time they had been friends?

And then, her expression changed for a brief second – her eyes widened with shock and horror. Frisk blinked, confused.

"NO!", she screamed.

The human gave a step back, afraid, and that was when he felt a sharp pain at his lower back.

Every muscle in his body froze, and his head suddenly became very light. Then, not a second later, he felt an exploding, hot pain in his abdomen and, with his head trembling, he looked down.

 _Whoa_. That was _a lot_ of blood.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?", he heard Undyne scream.

The tip of a gray spear was protruding from his abdomen, stained with his blood, and the second after the empress screamed, it dissolved, turning into grayish powder. Frisk managed to put his hand on the wound, and it quickly became drenched in his own blood.

Losing sensibility from his legs, he fell on the floor, trembling. Dark spots appeared in his vision, and his hearing felt like an old radio tuning in and out. He could hear Undyne yelling, and someone responding. It almost sounded like... the barking of a dog?

With the little sensitivity he still had, he could feel his clothes getting stuck to his skin, drenched in his blood, coloring them crimson. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out – he only felt a disgusting, metallic taste. He spit what he could of the mixture of saliva and blood – the rest came out in a thin line of drool. He was feeling himself very light, and he wanted to sleep so, so badly. The dark spots were taking most of his vision – he couldn't see anything from the room anymore, just the white light that filled it.

Was he dying? He could feel his breathing shallow and inefficient; his chest began to hurt. He wanted to close his eyes and wait there, wait until it all passed, until he couldn't feel his blood against his clothes and skin.

But he couldn't die. Not yet.

With difficulty, he turned his head until he could see the exit of the Underground – which was by itself an achievement, since his vision was really blurred, and not getting any better.

He stretched his bloodied arm in front of him, his hand open, towards the light. His lips trembled, as if trying to form a sentence, calling for the light, trying to feel it.

"Help... me.", he moved his mouth in silence, as his voice was completely gone.

And that time... something happened.

The white light seemed to get brighter somehow – and he began feeling its warmth against his skin. The dark spots in his vision diminished a little; the pain in his chest alleviated for a while.

He couldn't miss that chance.

He let his hand fall to the ground, grasping it, and pulled himself forward. He felt a weird, cold pain in his abdomen as he did so, but he pressed on. He felt his legs against something wet and squishy, but didn't dare to look at what it was.

He needed to keep going.

He stretched his arm, grasped the ground, and pulled himself a little more forward. The white light surrounded him – he needed to squint his eyes so it wouldn't be unbearable to look at.

He repeated that process over and over. He made very slow progress, but he could feel he was approaching the exit.

Then, he heard exclamations behind him, and felt someone approaching. They touched his arm, and then his torso, attempting to grab him, but he frantically shook his arms at them to make them go away. He couldn't do much, but he insisted until they got away.

Nobody would prevent him from reaching his goal. _Nobody_.

He returned to grasping the ground and pulling himself forward again, but he was running out of energy. The pain in his chest was returning, and his vision was becoming dark again. He stretched his trembling arm in front of him, and it felt uselessly on the ground. No matter how much he wanted, he didn't find the strength to raise it again.

The only good sensation he still had was the warm light against his face. It was so comforting he wanted to close his eyes, but he didn't dare do it – even if his vision was now so dark it would barely make any difference,

Please... he had to... he _needed_ to...

For a moment, the light seemed to get even warmer and brighter. He began hearing voices... voices from people that no longer belonged to that world.

Asriel. Toriel. Mrs. Magda. Sans. Chris.

His mother.

They were... trying to say something. Frisk couldn't make out what they were saying, but he knew it was them. He felt a soothing sensation pass through his whole body, making him instantly relax. It was almost like magic.

He closed his eyes.


	19. Still You

The first thing Frisk felt was the warm sensation on his skin – like when they stayed still by the sunlight long enough. Then, the smell – the wild, fresh vegetation that grew around Mt. Ebott in the summer. He moved his fingers and balanced his legs. He was sitting on some kind of surface, but his feet weren't touching any kind of ground – was he by a ledge, or a cliff, perhaps?

When a gentle breeze blew at him, intensifying that comforting smell of wood for a second, he opened his eyes.

He was, indeed, sitting on a cliff, and the view was absolutely stunning. The forest beneath him was beautiful, wild, mysterious. The town nearby it was brimming with busy people, each minding their own business, going to their homes, or maybe meeting their friends and family. A little ahead, a highway displayed a considerable amount of cars coming and going, making the traffic mildly busy.

He was at the top of Mt. Ebott, there was no mistaking it. He had already been there, but never alone. Still, he didn't feel sad or lonely, as he thought he would have – his heart was filled with a welcoming serenity.

Everything he saw was beautiful in their own way, but the most stunning thing was the sunset right in front of him. Frisk watched the sun – colored in a non-aggressive type of orange – slowly disappearing in the horizon. He didn't need to squint his eyes to look at it, so he just kept there, observing it.

There was something comforting in watching the sunset nearby a town full of life – actually, he had forgotten what a normal town, with people walking around, felt like, or even looked like. He knew, immediately, that the war wasn't happening in there. Perhaps it never did.

And yet...

As he looked below, at himself, he realized he still looked like his 17-year-old self – he was even dressing the same clothes. If he had reset back to six years before, wouldn't he be looking like a ten-year-old child?

Not only that, he realized his mortal wound on the abdomen was absent from his body. He put his hand beneath his shirt, feeling it, but there were no scars or markings indicating he was ever wounded in there. It was like it never happened.

And then, the realization finally hit him.

He was _dead_.

He looked at his hands for a while, closing and opening them slowly, feeling his fingers pressing against his palms. He looked at the sun once again, paying attention to the way the light felt so warm against his skin. He took a deep breath, the smells of the forest filling his nose.

So that was how it felt to be dead? It wasn't so bad...

Just as that thought crossed his head, he heard a sound – approaching footsteps. He looked up to his right – a woman was standing in there. She looked down at him, smiling kindly. She had wavy brown hair, her skin slightly tanned. But what caught his attention were her eyes – they were just like his.

His heart gave a powerful leap inside his chest, the air escaped his lungs for a while. She... was she..?

" _Mom_?", he asked, his voice hoarse, like he hadn't used it in a long time.

Her smile got wider, but she didn't reply directly – it wasn't like she needed to. Instead, she looked down at her feet, and then at Frisk, as if asking for permission to sit down next to him. The human nodded nervously, and she sat.

For a moment, they both just kept looking at the setting sun, not exchanging a word. Frisk, who had been so serene up until that point, began growing restless. His mother was right _there_ , next to him, after he had grown up without her. He wanted to say something, but words were escaping him, and he couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at that.

And then, the sound of more approaching footsteps came from behind them – those ones, however, sounded quite heavier than his mother's. Frisk looked up to his left this time, and he didn't have any trouble recognizing who had appeared.

"Toriel.", he said, quite affirmative.

And it was indeed Toriel who was standing there. She gave that kind smile of hers – that same smile that had made him feel warm, but guilty, over the past six years. She didn't ask for permission to sit by Frisk's other side and, not wasting any time, she raised her paw and began to gently stroke his hair.

He looked from Toriel to his mother, suddenly noticing various things he hadn't while he was there. He took another deep breath, deciding if he should tell them. After some long seconds passed, he decided the two deserved to know it – and, at the very least, he needed to get it out of his chest, even if they wouldn't say anything in return.

"The reset failed."

He waited for something to happen – maybe for his mother to look disappointingly at him, or Toriel to recoil, but everything stayed about the same. The goat monster still stroke his hair. His mother still observed the sunset with absentminded tranquility.

"I'm sorry.", he added.

Now that got more of a reaction from the other two. His mother put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes – her smile turning from a serene to a sad one. She shook her head, and Frisk was a little shocked to notice the tears forming in her eyes. She blinked, and a lonely tear dropped down her face. Even if no words were spoken, the human understood it.

" _Don't be sorry._ "

Toriel, in turn, put her hand over Frisk's other shoulder, and he looked at her. She nodded, as if agreeing with the silent message his mother had given. There were tears in her eyes too, and the human felt himself suddenly wanting to cry as well.

What was strange, though, was that he didn't feel sad, or angry. He should have been, right? He had fought for it for _so_ long – made the possible _and_ the impossible – just to reset, to make things right. And then, he was denied that. He had failed.

However, he felt strangely calm over that. Maybe it was him noticing that perhaps... and _only_ perhaps... that reset was failed from the start. It wasn't meant to be.

No, what really unsettled him was the following realization – the one about that wrong assumption he had made earlier; the one which would bring far more consequences.

"I'm not... dead, right?"

He looked at his mother, and her lips curled into a shy, tiny smile. As with everything else up until that point, nothing needed to be said.

The real question was: what would he do?

"I need go back, don't I?", he said, almost casually, as if confirming what he should buy in the next trip to the supermarket.

He chose to look at Toriel this time. She avoided his look, sighed, and then gave a meaningful look at him.

" _That's up to you, child._ "

Frisk nodded.

It was so peaceful in there – he had never felt that calm, safe and comfortable during any point at his life (except, maybe, when he was very little and his mother was still alive). If he chose to stay, he'd be with his mother and Toriel forever. Maybe then they would climb the mountain down together and reach town, where they'd find Sans, in case he was wandering (or lazing) around. The human had gone through so much, all he wanted was a bit of peace – and staying would provide him with just that. It was the easy solution.

However, Frisk also knew he had given up on easy solutions a long, long time ago.

"I can't stay.", he said, choosing not to look at any of the ladies. "Not yet. Things are going to happen and... and I have a feeling I need to be there."

His thoughts immediately went to MK and Papyrus. What would be their reaction when they found his body, drenched in a pool of his own blood? He felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

MK, who had been Frisk's most loyal companion ever since they reunited during the war... Papyrus, who, despite everything, came back to them, to be side by side with his friends... the more the human thought about it, the more he realized that the two monsters had become a _family_ to him. The horrors they faced together created a bond between them that couldn't be easily shattered.

That was why he couldn't stay.

And he was smiling. Tears were streaming down his face, but he was smiling – because he noticed that he wouldn't be alone ever, ever again. No matter the circumstances.

He stood up, and his mother and Toriel stood up as well. He looked from one to the other, and had the feeling he wouldn't need to explain his decision to neither of them. From the way they smiled, it was clear they understood why he needed to go. It was the right thing to do.

Still...

"There's... so much I want to say.", he said, looking more at Toriel than to his mother at that.

But whatever he had to say was cut short when the two pulled him into a hug. Frisk felt the human heat that emanated from his mother, and the fluffy fur from Toriel, all mixed together, and it was suddenly too much for him. He hugged them back, not doing anything to hold back the loud sob that escaped his throat.

He missed them. And from the way they cried, they missed him too.

However, the tears they shed weren't ones of despair and suffering. They were sad, yes, but they were also happy. In Frisk's mind, that wasn't farewell. Not really.

He closed his eyes again.

* * *

 _Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

Frisk had been really quiet, eyes closed, listening to the steady 'beeps' that came from somewhere next to him, when he noticed he was actually awake. He was _conscious_.

Funny – he had been conscious for some time now... he remembered hearing a humming noise around him and feeling the soft surface he was laying on, but at the time his mind was floaty and he couldn't really think about anything, like he was in a dream. But no – this was real.

With awareness came other things. He felt something pressed against his mouth and nose, forcing air into him, making his chest heave up and down almost in an uncomfortable manner. A cold sensation spread from his stomach to the upper part of his body – although everything below his waist felt strangely numb.

 _Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

There was another sound – similar to the one they make when breathing through a gas mask. Then, he realized it was his _own_ breathing. That, allied with the pressure he felt on his mouth and nose, made him conclude he was breathing with the help of a device of sorts.

Was he in... a _hospital_?

He tried to remember why he would be in a hospital, but the effort just made his mind enter that same daze he was in as he heard the 'beeps' earlier. He felt sleepy, but he had become far too aware of what was going on around him to actually fall asleep. Or fall asleep _again_. Had he ever slept in there? He couldn't tell.

 _Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

The war. Fighting Undyne. Someone stabbing him. Blood. He remembered – he had been at death's door. But then... was he really alive? But how?

And there was also that strange vision he had – with him, his mother and Toriel at the top of Mt. Ebott.

He tried to move a finger – he raised his index one, moving it up and down. He moved the other fingers as well, and the soreness he felt wasn't like anything he had experienced before. It was like his hand had been inside a bowl of ice for a long time, and he was finally taking it out.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise – approaching footsteps next to him, until they came into a halt. Someone was there with him, and whoever they were, they were standing right next where he was laying down.

Wondering if that would actually work, he opened his eyes.

 _Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

He couldn't see clearly right away – all he saw were some white blurs and outlines, and something yellow next to him. He tried to move his neck to see the yellow thing more clearly, but his neck seemed frozen.

He blinked.

"Oh my god, you're awake!", said MK's voice, shaky and spooked. "You're awake!"

Even if Frisk tried to reply, he wouldn't have been able to, as his mouth was covered by what was probably a breathing mask. Instead, he just heard MK stumbling away, knocking something on the ground, and fumbling with another thing on the other end of the room (spatting some very ugly curses on the way).

"Doctor, you need to come right here, he's awake!", he stopped for a moment, listening to the other side. " _What_!? You..! _Of course_ this isn't a joke, dude! _He freaking opened his eyes_! Quick!"

The human felt sleepy, but he didn't dare closing his eyes again. He had slept enough for a lifetime.

 _Beep... beep... beep... beep..._

* * *

The next few moments became foggy in Frisk's mind – his conscience fading in and out, his blurry vision barely making the outline of the doctors and nurses around him. He felt himself being carried from his bed, and a sinking feeling in his stomach indicated he was speeding up through a hospital corridor.

He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling sick.

"What's your name?"

Frisk opened his eyes again – he wasn't speeding up anymore. His vision focused a little, and he was able to make out the expression of a dark haired, green eyed doctor dressed in a white lab coat.

"Frisk.", the human replied, feeling his tongue swollen and rolled. "My name... is... Frisk."

The doctor held up a small pen over Frisk's eyes, and he had to avoid looking as they flashed a white light directly over his face. Doing so, he caught sight of the nurses that were in the room – none of them could hide their expressions of amazement.

The doctor turned the pen's light off.

"How old are you, Frisk?", he asked.

But Frisk's vision was beginning to spin and fade out again.

"How old are you, Frisk?", the doctor repeated.

"Seven... seven... teen...", the human mumbled.

He couldn't remember what happened next.

* * *

He woke up again to find himself back to his hospital room, which was now illuminated by a gentle, yellowish light from a desk lamp next to him, as the night had fallen outside. His vision was perfectly fine, and he felt himself well rested, although there was a sour taste in his mouth he couldn't get rid off. Well, at least he wasn't wearing a breathing mask anymore.

He blinked a few times and tilted his head to the window next to him – it was a quiet, starry night, and he was reminded of that night Sans taught him the constellations, a night that felt like it happened forever ago.

But he wasn't alone in the room.

"MK?", he called, trying to tilt his head to the other side. As doing so was painful, he just heard someone standing up and approaching, and when he finally managed to look to the other side, MK was already standing there, looking at him.

The yellow monster had seen better days – heavy bags under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept well for quite some time. He wore the same sweater as always, but it was dirty and the collar was chewed up. The two looked at each other, MK's eyes wide, in a similar fashion it did when he talked about Undyne six years prior.

"This is a miracle.", he slowly said, thunderstruck.

It was, indeed. Frisk was there – he was still alive, when all the odds had been against him.

"How long have I slept?", the human asked, happy to notice his voice sounded normal, and not groggy.

MK gulped – his lower jaw trembled a bit, like he was seeing a ghost.

"U-uh... a month, I think? God, but how are you even _alive_? There was so much _blood_ , and even after we got here your heart stopped twice, but the doctors always managed to revive you! I... We...", the yellow monster started to mumble as his voice cracked. "We thought we had lost you..."

"But... but how did we get here?" Frisk asked back, frowning. "How... what happened?"

But MK began rambling, speaking in a quick manner that almost left Frisk's head spinning again.

"We found you! And then – and then! They stormed in, and... and they subdued Undyne and now she's arrested, and all monsters are back to the Underground, and we thought you died but now you're alive and... _god_ , you're alive, but we don't know what will happen to us and–"

"Whoa, calm down!", said Frisk, trying to raise an arm to calm the monster, but it felt like an anchor was attached to it.

MK sniffed, and the human shot him a funny look.

"Are you... crying?"

"N-no, I'm not!", but the monster turned his face so Frisk couldn't see it. "Idiot.", he mumbled.

Silence fell between them once more, and Frisk waited for the yellow monster to turn back to face him to continue the conversation.

"Can you tell me what happened?", he asked again. "Calmly this time. My brain can only take so much."

MK took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. The human knew immediately that would be a long story – but it was okay. He had time – for the first time in a while, he actually had _time_.

"Okay... when you ditched us back in the lab..."

"I didn't _ditch_ you!", Frisk protested, annoyed.

"Papyrus and I went back through the elevator we came through earlier, back into Hotland.", MK continued, ignoring the human. "You'd be amazed how quickly Papyrus can run when he's worried. Anyway, we managed to reach the last chamber in the Underground, where the barrier used to be and there... there we found Undyne, yelling at one of the guard dogs. And near the exit... laying there..."

His voice failed, and Frisk understood why. Of course, what they found there was nothing but the human's body, drenched in blood, completely motionless.

"Papyrus got _really_ mad.", the yellow monster continued, somberly. "He yelled at Undyne... said that, after that, he didn't believe she was a good person anymore. Undyne said she didn't mean for that to happen, but he didn't listen. He cast his blue magic and plucked her and the guard dog to the ground. I thought...", MK coughed nervously. "I thought he would actually kill her. But before that could happen... humans bursted through the exit of Underground. A lot of them."

Frisk blinked.

"Wait... _what_!?"

MK gave an emotionless laugh.

"Yeah... and there weren't just regular survivors... they were being lead by a special squad, and they had really powerful weapons, so they subdued us real quick. I think... I think Undyne's shields had failed, or something."

As MK spoke, Frisk remembered the little details from the moments before he was stabbed.

"Undyne deactivated the shields herself."

"What?", the reptilian monster asked, frowning. "Why would she do that?"

The human explained the reasons that led to Undyne giving up on the war and deactivating the shields, which meant monsters would finally lose. MK listened attentively, though a hint of disbelief still showed on his expression.

"I... don't get it.", he said. "Giving up like that... is not like Undyne. At all."

"I disagree.", said Frisk, sighing. "I think... considering the circumstances, this shows Undyne was still... herself."

MK looked puzzled at the human.

"What I mean is...", he continued. "When the war started, I thought Undyne had become wicked, consumed by revenge. I _feared_ her, MK – and to be honest, that wasn't really wrong of me. The last thing I wanted was to face her. And then, when I found her there... I noticed she was aware of all the pain and suffering that war brought to everybody. She wanted to give monsters a better life, and then saw her decisions made the exact opposite happen. Even if she had personal reasons to keep that war going, she knew she couldn't keep it – not at the cost of so many lives. _Innocent_ lives. In the end, her sense of justice spoke louder."

Which meant that the Undyne on this timeline was not _that_ different from the Undyne on the timeline Frisk freed everybody. Different circumstances shaped people in different ways – but their core values, the very composition of their soul, was always the same. In peace – and in war.

"I guess you're right.", said MK, shaking his head in melancholy. "This war wasn't easy on anyone, huh?"

"Yeah...", agreed Frisk, sounding tired. "Anyway, what happened next?"

MK frowned.

"Uh... where was I? Oh yeah – they subdued us. And then...", to Frisk's surprise, MK gave quite a hearty laugh. "The most impossible things happened, one after the other. First: you moved. You raised your arm high, and then let it fall. That's how we discovered you were somehow _still alive_. This got the attention from the squad, and two of them picked you up from the ground and began quickly taking you out of there. Papyrus made motion to follow, but the rest of them pointed their guns at him."

Frisk was feeling quite uneasy with that story – even if, by judging MK's expression, everything probably turned out alright. He just couldn't see exactly _how_ , in the moment.

"And this leads us to the second thing – among the regular survivors that were alongside the squad, a certain group came to the front.", the reptilian monster cast Frisk a smug look. "C'mon, man, you know who I'm talking about."

The human had an idea, but it seemed so improbable it actually felt a little ridiculous to say it out loud. Still, who else could it be?

"You don't mean... Leonard and Eileen?"

MK's smile grew wider.

"Yep. They recognized me, and tried to convince the squad Papyrus and I were good. It was _really_ tense.", he added, his expression turning darker for a brief second. "Leonard and a guy from the squad were _this_ close to shooting each other, honestly. But in the end they let us – and by 'us' I mean Papyrus and I – accompany you to the emergency heli... heli... _ugh_ , you know what I mean... that was at the top of Mt. Ebott – the one that drove to the nearest non-destroyed town that had a hospital. Here. I guess that was the third impossible thing. And the fact you reached here alive is the fourth. Actually...", MK looked to Frisk in awe, as if the story he told was just now sinking in. "Again: how did you stay alive? You... you lost a lot of blood out there... when you came in here, the doctors said the chances of you surviving were less than five percent. And in the case you _did_ survive, it was very probable you'd be in a coma. Forever. And yet... you're here. You're awake. You're talking."

Frisk had been wondering about that himself – but in the end, the answer was quite obvious.

"I guess that's what an overdose of determination does to you.", he replied with a little smile.

MK's eyes widened, and then he closed them and shook his head, as if noticing he should have known better.

"Of course... ' _the will to keep going_ '.", he mumbled. "That stuff is really strong, huh, dude?"

"Yeah...", agreed Frisk, chuckling. "Talk about a hell of a drug."

A companionable silence fell between the two – and it reminded Frisk how glad he was the yellow monster was alright. It was actually amazing how they managed to develop a friendship during such dark times – but perhaps that was why their bonds were so strong. It made it so hope – that little, yet insistent flame inside Frisk's heart – never went off. Not really.

But then, MK looked down, and then back to the human, visibly uncomfortable. There was a subject he was trying to bring up, but he had trouble doing so. Frisk braced himself for it – he knew _exactly_ what the next topic was about.

"In the end, it didn't happen, right?", the yellow monster finally said. "The reset."

Frisk shook his head, weakly.

"It didn't.", he confirmed.

"Frisk, but... this doesn't make any sense!", continued MK. "All this time, we've been after the reset. You've never given up, no matter what happened! And let's not forget you took a determination boost back in the hidden lab. So... _why_? Why are we still here?"

Frisk looked to the window for a moment, gazing at the stars on the night sky outside. Over the past months, he had learned many ugly truths about the world – truths that dared his own convictions. But perhaps the hardest part was happening right now – he was noticing the truth about _himself_ ; the motive the reset didn't happen.

"I _hesitated_ , MK.", explained Frisk, calmly. "You're right, I was determined to make the reset, but... at the very, _very_ end... when I was about to lose all my forces... I hesitated. I was never completely convinced the reset was actually the right thing to do, even if I kept repeating this to myself. I've been having doubts all this time, even without noticing. The things I spoke... the ways I acted... why did Sans' death kept affecting me so badly, even at the prospect of reversing it? Why else did I bother making promises I knew no one else would remember?"

Frisk turned to face the reptilian monster, who was looking at him with a sorrowful expression.

"I guess you were right.", the human continued. "I _was_ trying to save, to _redeem_ myself... so I took the reset as an opportunity to have something to fight for."

"Dude, I didn't mean to..."

"No, no... you just made me see more clearly. I was selfish. I'm sorry."

MK opened his mouth, but closed it again – there was nothing to be said. Frisk looked back to the starry night.

"There's another thing...", he said.

Frisk couldn't quite begin to describe how he knew what he was about to say – yet somehow, he was sure of it. All that time, he had been looking at the reset matter as a big jigsaw puzzle – but he never noticed there was a tiny little piece of it that had always been missing from the start.

"I... I don't think the power to reset was ever really mine.", the human began, unsurely. "I used it, sure, but... whoever had the _real_ control over the resets and timelines... was something else."

At that point, MK was probably used to hearing those strange things – but even he had trouble picturing out what Frisk was trying to say.

"' _Something_ '..?", the yellow monster repeated.

The human shifted in his bed.

"Yeah, something... bigger than us, you know?"

"You mean... like a god?"

Frisk frowned. He had never been a religious person, so the thought of everything being in the hands of a "god" didn't convince him. Still...

"I'm... not sure 'god' is the right word for it.", he concluded.

Perhaps there were things he wasn't meant to understand.

"What I mean to say is that you were right, MK.", he stated, finally seeing a truth he once refused to. "I should never have played with time. Who lives... who dies... what happens next... it's not up to me to decide."

Time was something dangerous, after all – one look at what happened to Dr. Gaster would explain why. After everything the human did – after all the resets, and exploring all possibilities – he was lucky to be in one piece.

"I...", MK began, giving a weak smile. "I... kinda prefer it this way, you know?"

Frisk looked at MK, and the expression he saw in their face... that glimmering hope in their eyes – the look of someone who found a future to look forward to – it made the human think perhaps he preferred it this way, too.

The future, right now, was foggy for everybody. What would happen to monsters? To humans? In a more personal level, what would happen to Frisk, MK and Papyrus? The thought made Frisk unsettled, but it was a good kind of unsettlement. The future would give him a reason to fight (or act) for.

Actually, the future was probably already presenting him with a challenge at that exact moment.

"MK?", Frisk called.

"Yeah?"

"I've been moving my body during this conversation.", he explained. "You know, my fingers, my hands, my neck. But I've been trying to move my toes for some time now, and... _I can't_."

The human felt the reptilian monster tensing up, but he pressed forward.

"Actually...", he continued. "I... can't feel my legs anymore."

A glance at MK's expression confirmed what Frisk was thinking. The monster shifted his weight on his feet, clearly uncomfortable.

"Y-yeah... so... apparently, you were heavily damaged on the base of the spinal cord and...", he swallowed. "You won't be able to use your legs anymore, because chances of recovery are zero. I guess... you couldn't escape that one, man. Sorry."

The reptilian monster glanced the human a careful look, as if they were expecting him to cry, or yell in disbelief. He, however, wasn't feeling upset about it. After surviving all that madness, it would be naive of him to think he would escape it completely unscratched.

"Well, would you look at that.", Frisk slowly said. "I don't have my legs. You don't have your arms. Maybe we're meant to be soulmates."

"Oh, shut up!", exclaimed MK, although he chuckled.

Frisk laughed too, and not because of his joke – but because he felt _hopeful_. Yes, the future could be scary, but it was also so full of possibilities. He'd just have to make it so his future was on his hands, and not in anybody else's.

"You're gonna be okay, Frisk."

Over the past months, the two had said that to each other a handful of times – but when they did, they were mostly trying to avoid falling into despair. This time, however, was different – there was a sincerity in MK's words that warmed the human's heart.

"I know. We're all gonna be."

For the first time, that could actually be true.

* * *

" _Nearly two months after the empress of monsters was captured, it didn't take long for special forces to either capture the ones who remained in the surface, or terminate who was still causing trouble. People are finally starting to move back to the towns nearby Mt. Ebott. The police and the military are working alongside civilians to reconstruct the cities – but it certainly will take more than a while before the survivors, former citizens of the attacked towns, can return to their normal lives._

 _Meanwhile, monsters are back to living inside Mt. Ebott, where it was recently discovered it housed a whole, complex structure, known simply as 'the Underground'. For the moment, all possible exits from the mountain are sealed with walls, mines and electric traps to prevent any escapes. Military forces are also constantly guarding the place to ensure higher security. We asked the civilians who are helping the reconstruction of the town nearest to Ebott what they think about it. This man, who preferred not to be indentified, expressed his concern:_

' _I don't feel safe at all. Those things have broken out before, who guarantees they won't do it again? I hope the minister does something about them.'_

 _The 'minister' our interviewee refers to is Mr. Thomas Wright, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country. Wright has been quite busy dealing with the monsters, although he has not made diplomatic attempts with them to this date. Our crew contacted him to know if he has anything in mind on the matter. His office sent us a reply stating that 'whatever they decide, it will be with humankind in mind first'. They are still waiting for the full recovery from the now popularly named 'Angel from the Underground', as they say they'd like to hear his thoughts on what to do with the monsters._

 _As we previously explained, 'The Angel's' identity is being kept secret by the government, most likely because he's still underage. For the moment, what we know about him is-"_

Frisk turned the television off. He always kept coming back to watch the news, but he never liked the direction the reports went. He turned back to the junior jumble that Papyrus had given him to keep him entertained. It was probably the easiest thing ever, although he progressed in a slow pace in purpose so that the skeleton wouldn't be too disappointed.

He looked to his hospital room's window. The sky was tinted a celestial blue, and there wasn't a single cloud to be seen – it was one of those rare days from winter when the weather would clear up, although the temperature was probably still freezing. He could hear the buzzing of cars and people coming and going down the streets – the sounds of busy city life.

Two weeks had passed since he woke up from his coma, and he was beginning to long the time when his legs were functional – at least then he would have been able to walk to the window and actually see what was going on below.

For most of the time, he stayed in bed, although every once in a while the nurses came in to a physiotherapy session so he could strengthen his muscles, which obviously had weakened due to keeping still for one whole month. Fortunately, most of his "free time" (when doctors or nurses weren't checking on him) was spent in company of MK and Papyrus, who did everything possible to cheer him up. Frisk appreciated that – in those moments, the future didn't seem so scary.

But now, it was early morning, and the two monsters would not be showing up until afternoon that day – which meant the human would be alone for some time. He was bored – he wanted to go out, but the doctor said they'd only allow that once he had fully recovered, which, in the most optimistic of perspectives, would take another two weeks at least.

Nevertheless, he was genuinely surprised when there was a knock at the door and a nurse came in. He looked curious at her, since he wouldn't have another physiotherapy session until the next day.

"Mr. Frisk, you have a visit.", she announced.

The human raised an eyebrow.

"Is it Papyrus or MK?"

Her lip trembled a bit – like most people in the hospital, they weren't too fond of the two monsters that came to visit him often. He couldn't really blame that reaction, but as long as they were allowed to visit him, none of them really minded.

"No, but..."

"Then I'm not interested.", he said, looking back to the window.

It wouldn't be the first time – journalists have tried to get in contact with him ever since he woke up from coma, and Frisk wanted to spare himself from the harassment. In the hospital, at least, he could do that – but he knew that once he got out it would be more difficult to remain out of the spotlights.

"Well, she insists, mister.", the nurse continued. "Claims to know you. Her name is Eileen Johnson."

Frisk looked back to the nurse, his mouth opening in surprise. Could it really be? For a moment, he doubted it was actually Eileen, since it could very well be a journalist concealing their identity. But then, how many people in the world knew that Frisk and Eileen were acquainted?

"Shall I let her in?", asked the nurse.

Frisk snapped out from his thoughts.

"Y-yeah..."

"Excuse me.", she said, giving a little smile.

As the nurse left the room, Frisk had only a few minutes to wonder why did Eileen decided to come and visit. They were acquainted, and she certainly helped him reach Mt. Ebott back in the prison, but apart from that they really didn't have any lasting relationship.

Moments later, there was another knock on the door, and the nurse entered, followed by Eileen.

Frisk was impressed by how she looked like a... _normal_ teenager. Back in the prison, her clothes were ripped and dirty – she looked like a survivor that had gone to hell and back. But now, she wore clothes girls usually wore when going for a casual trip to the shopping mall – a blue blouse, black jeans, sneakers. Her curly hair fell neatly on her shoulders.

They looked at each other and the nurse excused herself, closing the door after exiting. The room fell in silence – to a point even the noises from outside seemed to diminish.

"Hey.", finally greeted Frisk.

"Hey.", she replied.

For a moment, the human didn't know what to say, until a funny thought crossed his mind. He let out a small chuckle.

"You must have a good reason for coming here.", he stated. "I mean, if the media finds out you know me, they'll never leave you alone."

Suddenly, Eileen's lips curled into a little smile.

"I know.", she said, nodding. "What they've been calling you now? 'The Angel from the Underground', or something along those lines?"

Frisk couldn't help his face scrunching up by hearing the new "nickname" the media had given him. He didn't like the thought of being referred to in that way, or even of people _thinking_ of him like that. It felt wrong – it made it look like he had battled Undyne to the death, deactivating the shields that gave monsters some sort of strategical advantage, when the truth was actually a lot less interesting, and his actions a lot less heroic.

"Yeah. Talk about corny titles...", he said, rolling his eyes. "Makes me sound like a demon."

Eileen laughed as she walked to a corner of the room and picked a chair.

"You can't blame them.", she said, dragging the chair next to his bed and sitting on it. "The war is over now, after all."

"It is, but if they knew the whole story they wouldn't be putting me in a pedestal.", admitted Frisk, suddenly feeling his face going red. He had a clue now of why Eileen had visited. "I just... _happened_ to be in the Underground when they invaded there and subdued the monsters."

"And would you mind telling me what happened?", the girl asked, confirming Frisk's suspicions.

The human couldn't really find a reason not to. In the prison, Eileen _did_ help him and MK get away based purely on intuition. And then, the war was over, and when she next saw him, he was on the floor, drenched in a pool of blood, in the same room as the empress of the monsters. That must have raised a lot of questions in her head.

Considering that, she deserved to know the truth.

So he told her about what really transpired in the last room of the Underground – he didn't mention the resets, though. Eileen listened closely, nodding from time to time as he explained.

"... and that's when that squad bursted through the exit, subduing everybody, according to MK."

Eileen leaned back on her chair, crossing her arms, looking down deep in thought for a moment.

"And how's MK?", she suddenly asked, looking back at Frisk.

"He's fine.", replied Frisk, a bit taken aback, as he wasn't expecting that particular question. "He and Papyrus come to visit everyday, so things don't get too boring around here."

"They're the only monsters that are here with us on the surface, right?"

"Yeah, and that's thanks to you.", the human replied, nodding nervously. "All other monsters are captured and back to the Underground. Except the empress, Undyne, who's being kept in a separate place."

Eileen nodded, bitting her lip. She then shot Frisk that piercing look she was so good at – like she was staring right into his soul. There wasn't any hostility in it like it used to, but the human was still uncomfortable at it.

"Okay... so maybe you didn't fight like a hero against the empress... and the war ending is just a coincidence.", she slowly said. "But you should know people are not stupid, Frisk, and neither am I. You _were_ up to something. I have a hard time believing you just... _happened_ to be there when it all came crashing down."

Frisk felt his mouth dry.

"I was.", he admitted. "But it went wrong, so it doesn't matter anymore."

"Look, all that I'm saying is that I think you played a part in ending this war, even if you don't see it.", she said, sighing, and passing her fingers through her hair. "And in any case, you were the only human to know where the entrance to the Underground was before the war even started, so there's that. You do know a lot about monsterkind, and that's one of the reasons you're the..." – she coughed – "'Angel from the Underground'".

Frisk found himself unable to stand her look, and chose to look back to the window, at the beautifully clear sky outside. Silence filled the room once more, but the human could tell their conversation wasn't quite over yet.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs wants to talk to you once you recover.", she commented, nonchalantly.

The human gave a dry laugh.

"Yeah, he wants to know my opinion on what we should do with the monsters now.", he said. "At least that's what he says to the press."

"And what will you tell him?"

Frisk looked back to Eileen – she seemed to be legitimately curious about the matter.

"What would you do?", he asked back.

Eileen shot him a funny look and shook her head.

"Frisk, seriously, I don't think I get a say on this.", she stated plainly. "Because I've only seen monsters during war – and in a war, people may not always act in their best behavior. But you? You have monster friends, so this means you've seen monsters in their _best_. Whatever you tell the minister, you should have this in mind."

Frisk thought for a moment about what the girl had just said. Then he remembered all the times he was attacked by monsters. And then he remembered Sans, Papyrus and MK, and all the acts of kindness and companionship they demonstrated. He remembered the monsters that had been so kind to him six years before, and then came to the surface to a start a killing spree. Yes – it was a complicated matter, one he'd have to think carefully about.

But for the moment, he decided to change the subject.

"How's your group?", he asked.

Eileen actually smiled at that question.

"Everybody is okay. No more casualties, which is a miracle.", she said. "I don't know... maybe Chris was... up there, watching over us. I like to think about it like that."

At the mention of Chris' name, her eyes got a little sadder, although she still smiled. Frisk himself felt a soft squeeze in his heart, too.

"Chris... he didn't deserve to go that way...", he said, bitterly.

"A lot of good people didn't.", she added. "But that's what happens in war. I..."

Eileen looked to the ground, shaking her head. Frisk thought her eyes were strangely shiny... like there were tears in them.

She then looked up, and the shine was gone.

"I've seen death take people I cared deeply in this war.", she gulped. "And Chris wasn't the only one. I'm sure you can relate to that. Sometimes... sometimes I wondered if it was worth to keep going, enduring all that pain. But then I remembered Chris and... other people I knew, that passed away... and I knew I needed to keep going, so their sacrifices wouldn't be in vain."

Looking her in the eyes, Frisk had that sudden, clear realization that the war had impacted both he and Eileen in similar ways. Made them change, grow, and see the world with different eyes.

Their losses were part of their histories – holes that could never be filled up entirely, but served as motivations to get stronger. To keep going. To stay determined.

The girl then stood up, checking her phone. It was such a common gesture in the modern world – but after months without seeing a functional phone in front of him, the device looked almost like an alien artifact.

"Well, I gotta go.", she announced, clearing her throat in a polite way. "Get well, Frisk. I have the sensation we'll see each other in the future."

She smiled, and this time Frisk couldn't help but return it.

"Bye, then.", he said. "And thanks for coming to visit. Tell Leonard I said hi."

"Will do.", she nodded, and then turned around, walking towards the door.

When she opened it, she hesitated a little before going out. She then turned her head, so she could see Frisk once again.

"Hey, Frisk?"

"Yeah?"

She gave a little smile and looked to the ground, avoiding his look. Frisk noticed she grabbed the door knob with more force.

"Tell MK I think he's kinda cute."

He blinked, and she left.


	20. Futures

A couple days after Eileen visited, Frisk received it from the hospital staff – a white, official-looking envelope with the country's crest marked on it. He eagerly opened it, and it turned out the authorities were serious when they talked about him – the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Thomas Wright, wanted to speak to him about the... _aftermath_ of the war. The meeting was scheduled for the exact same day his doctor predicted his discharge from the hospital.

When he told Papyrus and MK about it, the former freaked out – not because of the meeting itself, but because Frisk told them he didn't have any formal clothing for the occasion. The skeleton promised they'd find something good for him to wear on time. Frisk knew Papyrus' taste in fashion wasn't the most usual, so he tried to convince them he was fine the way he was, but they didn't listen. Frisk could only pray they wouldn't buy a green tuxedo. Or one of those fake tuxedo t-shirts.

Meanwhile, Frisk had time to think about what he would tell the minister. He wasn't stupid – he was fully aware he had become some sort of symbol of human power in the war. "The Angel from the Underground" – the blood-drenched hero who fought against the empress with all his might.

People didn't know the whole truth... but maybe Frisk could use his position to actually be listened. He was receiving an insane amount of attention from the media – and authorities – and he knew they wouldn't have given a second thought to him if he hadn't become this symbol.

What would the minister want to know? Probably how Frisk knew where the entrance to the Underground was. The reply the human would give to that answer would lead to another question – what were monsters like? And it would all culminate into that one fatal question: how should they deal with the monsters? Seal them again, this time not with "magic", but technology?

Or maybe kill them, and solve the problem once and for all?

There was something funny about how humans dealt with war – they had the tendency of choosing the solutions that would likely lead to other wars. With bitterness, Frisk thought that a third war between monsters and humans _could_ happen in the future – maybe not the near future, but the possibility still existed.

But perhaps... perhaps he could reduce the chances of that happening, at least. Yes... it was time to do something different.

He made up his mind.

Between the physiotherapy sessions and Papyrus and MK's visits, the day for the meeting with the Minister finally came. Frisk woke up with the lonely ray of sunlight that seeped through the curtains and lighted the room. From what he could see between the gap in the curtains, that day would be a sunny one, with clear skies.

After a quick breakfast (the thought that meal would be the last of hospital food he'd see in a while cheered him up), the doctor came in for a final examination. As they had predicted, Frisk was as fine as he could be – he had recovered nicely from the injury in his stomach, and the physiotherapy helped him get back in form.

"Well, Mr. Frisk, I must tell your case is extraordinary in the medicine world. I've never seen anyone recover like that from such small chances!", the doctor stated, passing him some paperwork for the discharge. "You're free to go. I contacted your... friends, and they'll be passing to pick you up shortly."

The human nodded as he completed the papers with his information and signed, passing it back to the doctor. As they left, a nurse came in with a package.

"One of your friends sent this early.", she said, handing him the package. "It's marked as... uh... _urgent_ , as you can see. Excuse me."

She left the room, and Frisk looked at the light brown package on his lap. He recognized Papyrus' handwriting in red marker, the words "FRISK", "URGENT" and "ROOM 302" all over it. The package itself was soft, and the human felt his heart sinking as he realized what it probably was. With bated breath, he opened it.

A blue button shirt was neatly folded in there, alongside black dress pants and brown dress shoes. He released his breath – the choices were simple, yet quite elegant.

"Whoa, Papyrus...", he muttered, blowing a low whistle.

He had the suspicion maybe MK helped to tame Papyrus' choices – or not. He decided to give the skeleton the benefit of doubt and not ask about it.

He dressed himself – which took quite a while, since it was more difficult to do that when they couldn't move their legs. On the first days on the hospital the nurses had helped him dress – even if the process left him totally and utterly embarrassed. He could be paraplegic now, but he wanted to keep himself independent whenever he could.

He thought that dressing the tight dress pants would be the worst part – but he soon learned putting the shoes was just as bad, if not worse. He didn't have the flexibility to reach his feet, so he needed to use his hands to drag them towards him so he could fit the shoes. He felt pathetic, but he would have to get used to it. This was his life now.

Just as he finished tying his last shoelace, there was another knock on the door and the nurse came back in, pushing a wheelchair into the room.

"This will be your wheelchair, Mr. Frisk.", she stated. "Remember from your therapy sessions..."

"How to ride it, yeah.", he completed, moving himself to the wheelchair. "Pretty simple, actually."

It... wasn't all that bad, to be honest. It was quite comfortable.

"I'll be pushing you to the ground floor today, though.", she said. "Your friends are waiting."

The human couldn't help but smile – the thought of seeing Papyrus and MK always cheered him up, and that day even more. He felt it in his heart that important decisions would be made that day – and that filled him with determination.

The nurse pushed him through the hospital corridors – doctors, nurses and a few visitors walked around, and Frisk could feel their stares at his direction. Of course, even among the hospital staff he had become some sort of "celebrity". He could also sense the nurse pushing his wheelchair walked in a proud manner, as if to show off 'who' she had been assigned to take care of. His smile faltered for a while.

They reached the elevators, and the nurse pressed the button for the ground floor as soon as they entered it. They descended, the only sound hearable being the humming from the elevator. The human had a weird déjà-vu sensation, but he tried to ignore it.

As they exited to the ground floor, the nurse began pushing him through the corridors once again, but as they kept going further and further, Frisk couldn't help but frown as he noticed they didn't seem to be heading for the entrance.

"Where are we going?", he asked.

"Oh, I was instructed to lead you through the hospital's backdoor.", she said casually. "Apparently, word spread out that you would be discharged today, so the front door is full of journalists."

He gave a frustrated sigh – of course, _journalists_. He'd have to deal with them sooner or later, but for the moment he was grateful at the hospital staff for being thoughtful about that.

They passed a double door that led to a small lobby, where Papyrus and MK were already waiting. The two monsters turned around and smiled at him, and Frisk smiled as he noticed they too had prepared for the day. The skeleton wore a magenta suit, dark dress pants and black shoes. The look was completed with a spotted tie hanging loosely around their neck. Frisk had to admit Papyrus managed to look somewhat elegant even in a magenta suit, and concluded that was the fanciest he would ever see them.

MK's style was simpler – a white button shirt (sleeveless) under a gray suit vest. It made contrast with the monster's yellow skin, but it still looked good.

"HUMAN!", exclaimed Papyrus, walking towards Frisk and bending down to an awkward position to give him a hug.

MK joined them – and the human noticed there was a hint of nervousness in his smile.

"So, today's the big day, huh, man?"

"Yeah.", replied Frisk, feeling nervous himself. "Just hope everything goes alright."

"OH, YOU'LL BE FINE!", stated Papyrus, making a dismissive motion with his hand. "YOU'RE GOOD WITH TALKING! BESIDES, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE!"

Frisk couldn't help but chuckle – and hearing the skeleton's words also made him feel a bit more confident. They were right – he's _been_ through worse.

"I'm leaving him to you, then.", said the nurse, letting go of the wheelchair and giving a small nod. "If you excuse me..."

Papyrus suddenly made a deep bow towards her.

"THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF HIM!", he said, straightening up.

The nurse blinked a few times, surprised by the compliment, and unsure of what to say. She had never talked to a monster – and after seeing the war unfold from afar – she probably didn't expect an interaction with one to be anything like that.

"Oh, uh... y-you're welcome.", she finally said, stuttering a bit. "Well, if you excuse me..."

She left through the double door – the trio watched her until she disappeared from view.

"That's probably the longest sentence anyone besides you has directed at us since we arrived in this town...", commented MK, sounding a bit sad.

"People don't have a very... _favorable_ look on monsters because of the war.", stated Frisk, plainly. "But hopefully that will start changing today. Slowly, but it will happen."

MK and Papyrus exchanged a look and then looked back to the human, puzzled.

"What do you have in mind?", asked the yellow monster, raising the part of his face where his eyebrows would be.

Frisk thought about giving them a full answer of what he was planning to say to the minister – but that would take time, and they needed to be on schedule. Instead, he gave the extremely short version of it:

"Peace."

"Whoa. That's vague."

"Come on, we have places to go.", said Frisk, impatient, changing the subject. "The meeting will be on the city hall – any ideas how to get there?"

Papyrus suddenly bounced excitedly, nodding vigorously. It was a funny sight, considering the formal clothes he was wearing.

"THE MINISTER SENT A CAR!", he announced. "IT'S JUST OUTSIDE, WAITING FOR US!"

"Well, that make things more simple.", said Frisk, smiling. "Let's go."

Papyrus made motion to start pushing Frisk's wheelchair, but the human interrupted.

"Thanks, Papyrus, but I think I can handle myself.", he said. "If I need help I'll call, okay?"

Papyrus stopped in mid-act, and retreated his hands, seeming a bit embarrassed, but he soon smiled.

"OKAY!"

With that, Frisk put his hands on the wheels at his sides and pushed them forward. He had trained that before, but he couldn't help but feel a little awkward. The doctor had said that was natural, and that he'd get used to it in no time. Papyrus and MK walked both on each side of him, making the human feel he was being accompanied by two very peculiar bodyguards.

When they exited through the hospital's backdoor, there was a surprise.

It wasn't the cold temperature that reminded Frisk he was only wearing a button shirt, and no coat. No – he _wished_ it was just that. When the trio exited the building, their visions became impaired by the thousands of flashes made by thousands of cameras, and the mixed, loud voices from the swarm of journalists that had gathered in there, each of them making a different question.

"Mr. Angel! How old are you?"

"Is it true you fought the empress of monsters, mister?"

"Are you friends with the monsters?"

"Rumor has it you were a monster who became a human, Mr. Angel! What do you say about that?"

"Would you mind a quick interview?"

Frisk put his left hand in front of his eyes to protect them from the lights of the flashes, attempting to keep riding the wheelchair with his other one – but that was too difficult. The chair made a weird turn, and he could feel the journalists closing in on him. He looked at Papyrus with a pleading expression, and fortunately nothing else needed to be said.

"OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!", Papyrus' voice was heard above of all the journalists. "HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN INTERVIEWS NOW! EXCUSE US!"

The journalists backed off a bit, some of them looking at Papyrus and MK with apprehension, but most of them kept talking, asking their neverending questions.

Papyrus then grabbed the wheelchair and began leading Frisk across the swarm. MK lead the way, trying to open a path through that confusing gathering of people.

"He's not interested.", he kept saying as they proceeded. "Please, we need to go. You'll be able to ask your questions later. Maybe."

Frisk could see a big, black car just up ahead – a man in a black suit waiting outside it. Suddenly, a cameraman jumped in front of MK and snapped a picture. The yellow monster flinched and averted his eyes.

"Hey, now that's just rude!", he yelled, angry. "Don't go jumping in front of other people like that!"

The cameraman seemed frightened and backed off, but that only made more journalists close up to take his space.

Then, the man in black suit seemed to notice the trio was struggling making their way across, because he walked towards them and gently pushed the journalists around, stretching his arms so they could pass. The sounds of dozens of voices still filled the air.

Finally, they made it to the car. Considering they needed to help Frisk get inside and fold his wheelchair, they actually managed to get all inside fairly quickly – under 30 seconds, maybe. The man in black suit entered the driver seat and turned on the engine, but the journalists had gathered around the vehicle – their faces pressed against the window, their voices now muffled.

Frisk was sat in the middle seat, between Papyrus and MK. The yellow monster glanced a look to the people outside, and then back at the other two, looking scandalized.

"Geez, why won't they let go!?"

"THEY'RE JUST DOING THEIR JOB, MK!", the skeleton replied. A second later, one of the journalists began knocking by his window, making a motion for him to lower it. He threw his hands in the air. "OH, C'MON! I'M TRYING TO DEFEND YOU HERE!"

Meanwhile, Frisk tried to keep looking straight, doing his best to ignore the journalists. He wasn't used to that kind of attention – and he didn't want it. He just wanted to be left alone – but that wouldn't be easy for him now, would it?

Eventually, the man in black suit managed to make the journalists disband by sounding the horn and making small moves with the car. They got to the street, and Papyrus looked back as they saw the people disappear in the distance.

"SO, YOU'RE REALLY FAMOUS NOW, HUMAN!", he said, quite happily, looking at Frisk. "I DARE SAY... MAYBE JUST AS FAMOUS AS METTATON WAS!"

Frisk gave a chuckle.

"I wouldn't say I reached that level yet!", he said, jokingly. "I mean, I don't have my own soap opera..."

MK snorted.

"Dude, I've just had, like, the weirdest vision.", commented MK, barely holding his laughter. "A soap opera in which all the characters are Frisk.", then the monster thinned his voice and shifted to a melodramatic tone. "' _Oooh, Frisk! I think... I think I'm pregnant... with Frisk's baby!_ '"

Both Frisk and MK laughed loudly, but Papyrus just stared at the two, outraged.

"THAT'S _NOT_ HOW METTATON'S SOAP OPERAS WERE!", he objected. "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THEY HAD _VERY_ COMPLEX AND WELL WRITTEN PLOTS!"

MK had laughed so much tears had appeared in his eyes.

"Y-yeah, sure...", he said, sounding as if he was about to burst out laughing again any second. "What was the last one's plot twist? All the Metattons were clones, or something?"

Papyrus made an impatient sigh while Frisk rolled with laughter.

"YES.", he confirmed. "AND IT WAS VERY GOOD, NO MATTER WHAT THE HATERS SAY!"

"C'mon, Papyrus! The name of the show was ' _The Clones of Me_ '!"

"IT WAS A _METAPHOR_!"

Frisk's laughter had already subdued at that point, and he glanced a sketchy look at the skeleton.

"Don't you mean...", he said, a funny tone in his voice. "A ' _mettaphor_ '?"

MK's smile suddenly vanished, replaced by a cringy scrunch. Papyrus opened his jaw, as if to say something, but closed it and put his hand on his chin, thoughtful.

"THAT WAS... NOT TOO BAD, ACTUALLY."

The rest of the ride was spent with the three talking, making jokes and engaging in meaningless conversations. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, but Frisk found that comforting, specially considering the important meeting he would have looming over his head.

After all, he too needed some nice friends and some bad laughs in his life. Maybe some good food, too, while he was at it.

After about a quarter of an hour, the car took a turn, and Frisk recognized the city hall – a big building with the whole block to it, a set of stairs leading to the entrance. A small courtyard was in front of it – and the human sighed when he saw the people in there, "waiting" for him. People holding microphones, notepads and cameras – journalists. There weren't as many as it did back in the hospital, but still...

So much for some peace and quiet.

Frisk heard the man in black suit talking through an earphone as they approached the city hall, but as he wasn't paying attention, he didn't get what they said.

They parked right in front of the courtyard that led to the city hall, and as soon as they did so, the journalists approached, curious – though they kept a careful distance to the vehicle. They probably couldn't see the inside very well because of the dark windows.

"AT LEAST THEY LOOK MORE... _POLITE_ THAN THE ONES AT THE HOSPITAL!", commented Papyrus, looking outside.

Frisk knew that once he stepped out of the car they would swarm around him – he didn't bother pointing that out to the skeleton, though.

The man in black suit exited the car and quickly opened the rear door on Papyrus' side. The skeleton got out, and Frisk could see the journalists timidly stepping back as he did so. He and the man proceeded to pick Frisk's wheelchair from the car trunk, and set it up just outside the door, so the human could move himself to it.

Just as he thought, he had barely sat on his wheelchair when the journalists quickly gathered around him, their voices mixing up together as each of them asked a different question. MK discreetly got out of the car behind the human in the meantime.

"PLEASE, HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN THIS NOW!", began Papyrus, his loud voice sounding clear above the crowd.

But Frisk just had the weirdest idea.

"No, Papyrus – I'll... I'll talk."

The voices immediately lowered considerably – there was a faint murmur of journalists telling their cameramans to turn on their cameras, but Frisk could feel they were just waiting for him to tell something.

What the hell was he doing?

"I have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, now.", he said, not sure where to look. "But you already know that. I'm not entirely sure what we'll talk about – but it will very likely involve the monsters in Mt. Ebott. I'll speak in more detail once the meeting is over."

Not even a second passed from the moment he finished speaking, the journalists began all asking their questions at the same time. Frisk could barely make some of them out.

"Do you know anything about Mt. Ebott the public yet doesn't?"

"Are you acquainted with the minister, mister?"

At that moment, the man in black suit tapped on his shoulder and approached his ear.

"The minister and the mayor are already in front of the city hall. Let's move."

With that, they began moving through the crowd of journalists. Oddly enough, it was as Papyrus said – they were way more polite than the ones by the hospital, as they let them get through with no resistance, although they kept asking their questions unstoppably. At the very least, Frisk could ride his wheelchair this time.

As they proceeded, Frisk could see that two men had appeared by the bottom of the stairs that lead to the city hall building. One of them was tall, slim and elegant, wearing a blue suit – his black hair (with a few grays) neatly combed to the side. The other was small, slightly chubby and wore a brown dress coat over a white buttoned shirt. They both smiled – though the taller one did it with more discretion than the other. Looking at them side by side, Frisk had the weird feeling he knew _who_ was the minister and _who_ was the mayor.

"Ah, Mr. Frisk!", said the chubby man, smiling even broader, taking the human's hand on a vigorous handshake. "Delighted to see you! I'm the mayor of this fine town – hope your stay at the hospital was good?"

The mayor talked about hospitals as if he was talking about five-star hotels, but Frisk returned the smile and nodded. He could hear cellphones ringing and cameras flashing – the journalists were surely doing their job, and some people passing by had stopped to watch what was going on as well.

Frisk then turned to the other man, who gave a warmer smile.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you.", he stated in a low, polite voice. "You must already know who I am – Thomas Wright, Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country."

"The pleasure is mine, minister.", Frisk nervously replied.

They shook hands – the minister had a firm grasp.

"And who are your companions here?", he asked, looking at the two monsters next to Frisk.

"These are Papyrus and MK.", the human introduced. "We travelled around together in the war.", he glanced a look to the two, and smiled. "I owe my life to them."

"In this case, it's a pleasure to meet you, too.", said the minister, shaking hands with Papyrus.

The skeleton had a very serious look on his face – he was dealing with serious business, after all.

"HONORED TO MEET YOU, MINISTER!"

The minister was about to repeat the gesture with MK, but stopped mid-act when he noticed...well, they didn't have any arms. For a moment, he seemed awkward, unsure of what to do. MK would normally throw a joke about that, but in the presence of an authority they simply sighed and did their best not to avert their eyes.

"Nice to meet you, minister."

"Yes, uh... nice to meet you.", the minister replied, awkwardly letting his arm fall to his side. He cleared his throat. "So, shall we enter the city hall for our meeting?"

Frisk nodded and then faced the stairs. He looked to the sides, trying to spot a ramp or something he could use to climb, but there weren't any. The mayor seemed to notice that, because his face went crimson almost instantly.

"Y-yes... um...", he stuttered. "We're working on the... _accessibility_ of the building. But for now, uh..."

The human looked at Papyrus, and didn't need to say another word – the skeleton grabbed the wheelchair and, with care, began pushing him up the stairs. Frisk's body shook up and down with the motion, and that made him feel pathetic – specially since he was aware of the people on the courtyard watching them.

Finally, they reached the top. Frisk glanced a look behind and felt his heart sinking – a lot of people had gathered in there; a hundred at least. It seemed word that "the Angel" had appeared for the meeting with the minister had spread like a wild fire.

Feeling strangely hot in his face, he was pushed to the entrance of the city hall.

The entrance hall of the building wasn't anything really special. The walls were covered with a salmon wallpaper that made the place look older than it probably was. A candlestick decorated with cheap crystals was at the center of the ceiling, and its rather big size called Frisk's attention even though the lights were off. A counter on the middle of the room separated the entrance from the area normally only employees would be able to enter, and two receptionists who looked particularly bored were sitting by there. As they noticed the mayor and the minister had entered, though, they immediately stood up.

"Hello Hannah, Michelle!", the mayor greeted joyfully. "This is Mr. Wright, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and – of course, this young man here with us is Frisk. You may know him as 'the Angel from the Underground'. Oh, and please don't be afraid of Papyrus and NK, I know they're monsters, but they are quite friendly and are accompanying Mr. Frisk here."

"It's _MK_...", mumbled the yellow monster, sounding slightly down, but the mayor didn't listen.

Frisk tried to ignore the fact the two receptionists seemed to have set their eyes on him, and weren't looking anywhere else. A few, uncomfortable seconds passed in which no one moved or did anything.

The mayor coughed.

"So?", he asked, his voice still cheerful. "Can you please open the counter so we can pass?"

One of the girls (Michelle?) snapped out of her daze and proceeded to lift part of the counter, opening a passage to the other side. The five of them passed, lead by the mayor, who seemed to be in the most excellent mood. Judging the shocked reactions from the receptionists, Frisk reckoned that city didn't receive many visits from ministers of foreign affairs, nor instant celebrities made from the media and their monster friends. He grinned in a sort of dark amusement.

As they walked through the building corridors, the mayor chattered about how the town had began to thrive when he was elected and how glad he was the war hadn't reached it. More than once, though, he hinted the administration could do a little better if the government supported it better financially, glancing meaningful looks at the minister – who elegantly decided to ignore it. Finally, they all crammed inside a rather small elevator to go up. Frisk's wheelchair took almost the whole space, while Papyrus needed to lower his head to fit in.

They reached one of the higher floors and the mayor lead them through more corridors – still talking during the whole time. Finally, they reached a door that the chubby man pushed open, revealing a cozy looking room – with three blue sofas in the middle set in a "U" form in front of a wooden desk, next to a fireplace that didn't look to have been used for sometime. A tube television was set on a little wooden stand by a corner, and by the other corner a small refrigerator made a low but constant humming noise.

"Welcome to the meeting room, where we can have our... uh... meeting!", the mayor proudly announced.

"Actually, Mr. Mayor...", said the minister, glancing a look across the room. "I was hoping maybe to have this meeting with Mr. Frisk alone. If you don't mind."

Oddly enough, he looked more to MK and Papyrus than to the mayor. The two monsters looked to Frisk, seeking some sort of confirmation, and the human nodded, trying to seem confident. Meanwhile, the mayor's smile faltered for a brief second, but he quickly recomposed.

"Of... of course, minister!", he said, the cheerfulness in his voice sounding a little fake this time. "I'll take our two monster friends here for a tour in the building!"

Frisk caught a glimpse of MK looking at him with a "you better be quick with this" type of look.

"Good. We can have some coffee later – we'll need to discuss what to tell the press, too.", said the minister.

"Of course, of course!", the mayor agreed. "There's a telephone by the desk. Just call the reception when you're ready!"

"Right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.", said the minister, bowing his head.

Frisk bowed his head to the mayor too, and discreetly winked at MK and Papyrus.

Everything would be alright. He needed to believe in that.

As the mayor took the two monsters for their "tour", the minister closed the door.

"Well, Mr. Frisk, we need to talk about some serious issues.", he stated. "I'd like to sit on a sofa, if you don't mind. I'm tired of having meetings by these big, round desks."

The human rode his wheelchair to the sofas, but the minister went to the corner of the room where the refrigerator was. As Frisk tried to slid himself from his wheelchair to the sofa (a task harder than he previously thought it would be), the man opened the fridge.

"Do you want anything to drink?", he asked, casually.

Frisk was still trying to get to the sofa without falling to the ground – because that would be embarrassing – and was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Oh – no, thanks.", he quickly said.

"Are you sure?", the minister asked back. "There's juice, iced tea, soda, water..."

Frisk had finally managed to sit on the sofa, and tried to make his legs stand in a position that wouldn't look unnatural. _God_ , that was weird.

"Just... just water, please.", he said, shyly.

"Water it is, then."

The minister picked two water bottles and walked to a cabinet, retrieving two glasses from it. He poured the content from the bottles inside the glasses, picked them up, and walked to the sofas, handling Frisk one glass of water and sitting on the sofa across the human with his own.

"You didn't need to have sat on the sofa.", the minister commented. "I understand your situation and how difficult it must be for you."

Frisk felt his face getting hotter. The minister was right – but perhaps the human was just too proud to admit it.

"It's no problem.", he mumbled.

"If you say so..."

The minister took a sip of his water – Frisk decided to do the same.

"So... I figure you already know why we arranged this meeting, right?", the man asked.

Frisk looked them in the eyes – they seemed sincere enough. But it was for the best if he laid all the cards on the table right in the beginning – maybe then he would have an _actual_ chance to be heard.

"The fate of monsters in Mt. Ebott.", he replied, dryly. "But this is all an act, right?"

The minister stopped in mid-act of taking the glass to his lips and stared at Frisk, cocking his head slightly to the right.

"An act? What makes you think that?"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?", Frisk explained, feeling actually a bit silly, since he expected the minister to simply confirm it or straightforwardly deny it. "I'm the new person the media decided to paint as a hero – the 'Angel from the Underground'. The government probably have already decided what to do with the remaining monsters, they just want this new 'hero' – me – to confirm their plans, so that they'll get a more favorable take on public opinion."

The human couldn't help his voice getting lower as his explanation went on. He was basically calling the government manipulative – on the face of one of their representatives, no less. He feared he might have gotten too far with it, and that the minister would end the meeting right there, but the man simply shook his head, frowning.

"I'm sorry for your lack of belief in us, Mr. Frisk.", he began. "But I'm afraid you only got it half-right. It's true we have made a primary decision on what to do with monsters – but we _do_ want to hear you out."

Although the minister sounded earnest, Frisk was still skeptical.

"Why's that?"

"You see, Mr. Frisk, when the military finally broke into Mt. Ebott and we found you laying there in a pool of blood, the government found that very, _very_ interesting. True, you became the new hero of the media, but you also called our attention. Greatly."

Frisk couldn't think of anything to say, so he just took another sip from his water. He could see where that conversation was going.

"How did you know where the entrance to the monsters' lair was?"

The human looked to the ground, suddenly feeling very tired. That story – he had told that story to lots of people, and yet so few knew the full, uncut version of it.

For better of worse, the minister probably wouldn't be part of these few.

"I fell down there by accident six years ago. Actually, almost seven now.", he said, giving a little, distant smile. Had so much time really passed since then? "There's a cavern with a big, weird hole inside. I went there exploring as a kid, and I fell."

The minister crossed his legs, his eyes showing a glimmer of curiosity – they were getting on the interesting part of the meeting.

"Fascinating...", he muttered. "And how did you escape?"

"The previous king, Asgore, had waged war on humanity when his son managed to get through the barrier, and was killed by humans in a village.", Frisk explained, feeling a quick, sharp pain in his head. He decided to ignore it. "To break the barrier, seven human souls were needed. They already had six. I was the seventh."

"And yet, here you are.", the minister commented, grinning.

"I got help.", the human continued. "Most monsters tried to help me get out of there. Many of them didn't even notice I was a human, because so much time had passed since they'd last seen one. But even when they did notice, they still tried to help me, because they were conflicted about waging war. Even the king was, to be honest."

"So what happened?"

"When I escaped, the six human souls they had already gathered were lost. Undyne, the head of the Royal Guard, took over the kingdom – and she was determined to fight on a war for the surface. Let's say she...", Frisk shook his head, his heart filled with a sudden sadness. "She managed to wipe out the doubts about a possible war within a lot of monsters."

Frisk waited for the minister to say something, but the man just kept looking at him, and the human had the weird impression they knew he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"But not all of them.", the minister said, in an affirmative tone.

Frisk was surprised by that.

"But not all of them.", he confirmed – not that it was necessary.

The minister sighed and looked to the window in the back of the room. Frisk wondered what was going on inside his head.

"And why did you go back?", he asked, still looking to the window.

That was the question everyone wanted the answer for. A few weeks before, Frisk was sure it was because of the reset – but as time passed, that idea seemed less and less real. Was that the _real_ reason of his going back to the Underground?

"I wanted to put an end to this.", he explained. It was technically true, regardless of his motivations. "But don't go thinking I actually managed to do anything. The only thing I did was get stabbed and almost die in there."

"And why didn't you report to the authorities?", the man asked, looking back at Frisk. "When you first escaped the Underground?"

The human let out an emotionless laugh – was that even a real question?

"Would you have believed a ten-year-old saying he found a place inside the mountain where monsters lived?"

The minister's mouth made a weird movement, as if he was intending to reply, but re-thought his answer in the middle.

"I suppose you're right.", he said, after a while. "We should give our children more credit for what they say from now on, then."

Frisk didn't reply to that – he looked to his own glass of water instead, still half-full. The minister's, though, was almost empty. Silence fell between them, and the human felt the man's gaze upon him, which made him feel uncomfortable. They still had a lot to talk about – including the _most_ important part, but where to even begin that?

"The decided protocol is to exterminate all monsters.", the minister stated with a steady, decisive voice.

Frisk's grip on his glass tightened.

"That's a bad idea.", he replied.

"It's the safest alternative for human beings.", said the man, matter-of-factly. "Our ancestors tried to seal them... apparently that only worked for so long."

Frisk knew the conversation would take that turn eventually – he had prepared for it, but that didn't diminish the anger and revolt that began to boil inside him. He took a deep breath – he _had_ to stay calm, otherwise he wouldn't be listened.

"What do you intend to do?", he asked, struggling not to sound too rough.

"We haven't decided on the specifics yet, because we wanted to hear you out.", the minister explained, his expression grave. "I figured you would oppose the idea, specially when we discovered you had two monster friends. But I can assure you this: they wouldn't be affected by the decision of exterminate all monsters. We'd let them live."

At least the minister wasn't giving these fake, businessman smiles when talking about that. No – that was a serious matter, and in the very least the minister was a serious person. Even though the human was angry and scared at the prospective of a mass elimination of monsters, he managed to subdue those feelings out of respect for the man's professionalism.

"What am I supposed to tell Papyrus and MK if I agree with this?", he asked. "How would they feel by knowing they were only spared because they're friends with me? Honestly, I wouldn't have the courage of looking at any of them in the face after that!"

The minister leaned back to rest his back against the sofa, drinking the last of water that still remained in his glass. His face was still fixed with that serious expression it had adopted earlier.

"And what do you propose, then?"

"A lot of monsters fought in this war and killed a lot of humans. Some of them even went as far as killing other monsters. But some regretted that. Some tried to hide from all this mess.", he said. His idea was clear on his mind, but he was aware he had difficulty translating it into words. "What I mean to say is, we should take each and every monster, and let them have a fair trial, or something like that. Those who show they can live with us peacefully here on the surface should be allowed to. Those who are not should be kept within the Underground until they are able to. But no one – _not even_ the empress – should be executed. No one."

Frisk took a deep breath, and just watched in expectation as the minister's expression remained unchangeable. Still, he began to feel strangely calm after his proposition. He had thought ahead of the questions the minister could throw at him. He got this.

"That would be a lot of work, Mr. Frisk.", the minister stated plainly.

"But it's the right thing to do."

"Maybe so, but sometimes we need to think of a solution that's quick and effective.", he continued. "You're young and full of ideals – and believe me, I can relate to that. When I was your age, I thought a lot like you, too. But the real world works differently, whether you like it or not."

"Then you should think harder, minister.", Frisk said, dryly. "While a general extermination is certainly quick – I _guarantee_ it won't be nearly as effective as you think. Because even if you make the whole Mt. Ebott come crashing down and crush all the monsters beneath it, _someone_ would survive. And history would be repeated – there would be another war. Maybe not tomorrow, nor even in the next year, or the next 50. But it would happen – just like our ancestors didn't foreshadow this when they created the barrier back then."

The minister didn't say anything – and after some seconds passed Frisk decided it was better if he kept going.

"But, if we do as I say...", he continued. "If we gave monsterkind a chance... we would be opening the way to peace. Yes – it would be difficult, and it would take a long time, specially since there would be resistance from some humans' part. But... step by step, we would be walking to an era where both humans and monsters can live in harmony. Maybe you and I won't be here anymore to see that happening – but we can plant the seeds now. The seeds for a better future for everybody."

Frisk actually smiled when he finished talking – his words sounded so true, even to himself, that his heart was filled with a warmth and comfort like he had never experienced before. And his words were spot on – Papyrus would be proud.

"Why are you so determined on this idea?", the minister finally asked. "Of giving monsterkind a second chance?"

The human closed his eyes for a bit, and various moments from the war flashed through his head. Sans saving him from Undyne. Those members of the Royal Guard attacking the cabin in the woods where his group was, alongside Bonnie, Berna and Boone. Papyrus leaving him and MK the day after his brother died. Meeting Eileen and Leonard's group. Chris teaching him self-defense. Papyrus coming back. The trio crossing the Underground once again.

All those moments, those experiences, lead him to that moment right there with the minister – and the answer to their question came easily to his mind, like something he knew all along, but only now had he become aware of it.

"Before the war, I thought humankind was trash.", he began, looking to his glass of water. "I had my reasons. After my mother died and I went to live in the orphanage, no human ever offered me their hand, nor had I seen any form of kindness from them. No – the first act of kindness done to me was by a _monster_. So, for the longest time, I thought monsters were kind and compassionate, and humans were cold and egoistical."

He didn't look up – he kept taping his glass of water, seeing the vibrations trembling the liquid. For some reason, it helped him concentrate.

"But then, the war came.", he continued. "And I saw monsters doing horrible things. Destruction. Murder. I saw _they were capable of evil_ – and believe me, I had a hard time dealing with that. Meanwhile, I also saw humans being kind and merciful, for the first time of my life. That flipped my whole world upside down. Weren't monsters supposed to be the good guys, and humans supposed to be the bad guys? Whose side was I on, in the end?"

He stopped taping his fingers on the glass.

"Until I finally learned... whether you do good things or bad things... it doesn't matter if you're human or monster. What matters are your choices. And everyone can be good if they just try – everybody... _everybody_ deserves second chances.", he said, looking firmly to the minister's face. "I know that because I was given too many chances to simply deny them to others. That's why... that's why I'm not giving up on monsterkind."

The minister leaned forward, resting his wrists on his knees, looking to the ground – the glass of water still held firmly in his hand. Frisk waited with bated breath – he could sense the man was processing what he had just heard, deciding if the human's solution was worth something. Some seconds passed in which the silence of the room seemed to get bigger and louder, almost oppressive. Frisk's heart beat with force inside his chest.

"This won't be an easy road for anyone, Mr. Frisk. _Specially_ for the monsters.", the minister stated, glancing up to the human.

"I know. But easy roads don't usually lead to the right solutions, either, so I think it's a challenge worth taking.", Frisk replied.

The minister straightened up, and to the human's surprise... he actually smiled – a true, genuine smile. Frisk suddenly felt his throat very tight and his eyes widened with surprise. No way... had he..?

"It's been a while that I thought about doing 'the right thing', Mr. Frisk.", commented the minister. "And I certainly would never have thought a 17-year-old teenager would make me do it... but I suppose I should listen to the 'Angel of the Underground' in this matter. Monsterkind... shall be given a second chance."

It was as if a lightning bolt had passed through Frisk's body. His eyes widened and his mouth became extremely dry – but this time it wasn't because of horror and shock, but genuine, pure _joy_.

He laughed and buried his face in his hands, some tears of relief escaping his eyes.

 _He had done it_. He had earned monsterkind a chance. And, in a certain way, he had earned _humankind_ a chance, too.

The next few minutes passed in a blur in Frisk's mind – much because he entered such an elated state that he had not experienced in a long, long time. He and the minister shook hands, and the latter promised he'd arrange a new meeting with his office and the human so they could discuss the first steps on integrating monsters to the surface, and what to do with those that would be kept in the Underground for the time.

Then, of course, they needed to call Papyrus, MK and the mayor back. As the minister walked to the telephone on the desk at the back of the room, Frisk moved himself to his wheelchair – and it didn't seem as difficult to relocate his body as it did before the meeting began. He looked to the windows, the warm sunlight and blue skies finally inspiring him as they should.

Better days were on their way.

The minister hung up the telephone and walked next to where the human was.

"They'll be here soon.", he announced. "Is there anything you want to know or clear up before they arrive?"

Frisk looked to the door – he couldn't wait until Papyrus and MK entered the room and they'd announce what had been decided in the meeting. His smile had not faded from his face – and probably it wouldn't for the next moments.

"Yes.", Frisk replied after a while, looking up to the minister. "Do you know if they still sell those 'Cool Dude' t-shirts?"

* * *

In different circumstances, Frisk would have avoided the media at all costs. However, as they planned on integrating monsterkind to human society, the government would need someone to assure everybody that things were under control, and that the monsters allowed to live on the surface meant absolutely no harm. And no one was more fit for that job than Frisk – after all, he was still the 'Angel from the Underground', wasn't he?

While a considerable amount of people supported it, there were those who got very frightened over the idea of living alongside monsters. Although no direct attacks to monsters happened, hate messages were spread across the internet and threats were written on walls – threats not only directed to monsterkind, but to Frisk as well. After he began defending his ideas, the human quickly turned from 'angel' to 'demon' for _a lot_ of people. It was an expected outcome, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs insisted on hiring body guards to go wherever Frisk went nonetheless – a proposal to which he reluctantly accepted after both Papyrus and MK expressed their worries over him.

Meanwhile, the trio bought a simple, yet cozy little house with two floors, near a lake on the outskirts of a town on the other side of the country – far away from the memories of war. Far away from Mt. Ebott.

Money wasn't a problem – monsters used gold as a currency in the Underground, and that was worth something on the surface, specially considering both Papyrus and MK's family had quite nice savings on it.

The most funny thing though was how the three of them decided to live together without really talking about it. Deep in each of their hearts, they knew they didn't want to be separated. They didn't want to be separated ever again.

And Frisk was happy. He had planted the seeds for peace between humans and monsters.

And, perhaps most importantly, he had finally made peace with himself.

Of course, even then things weren't perfect.

Frisk woke up one night gasping for air, sweat covering his whole body and making his pajamas stuck. For a moment, he moved frantically on his bed, with only the primal thought he needed to move, to get out of there somehow, guiding him. But then, as his heartbeats decreased and he got a better grasp on his conscience, he remembered he wasn't in any actual danger. He was safe and sound in his very own bedroom. It had just been another nightmare.

 _Another_ nightmare.

Ever since he left the hospital and began advocating for monsters after that first meeting with the minister, he'd been having trouble sleeping. His work was stressing, after all, and the body guards with him almost all the time added to his nervousness. By the end of the day, after meetings and more meetings, talking to the press, and keeping a close eye on the monsters' trials, he'd be exhausted. He didn't complain, it was a good kind of exhaustion – and there was something so heartwarming about finally having a _home_ to return to, in which his friends, his new _family_ , were waiting for him, that always gave him strength to overcome any obstacles he'd face in his new work.

But then, he couldn't sleep. And when he did, the nightmares were almost always around the corner, waiting to get him. They were usually very surreal and agitated versions of situations he had faced during the war. Flashes of colored light, distorted versions of humans and monsters he met along the way, explosions of dust and blood, over and over again.

He lay on his bed, facing the ceiling as his eyes adjusted to the dark. It was still night outside, as evidenced by what he could see from the gap in the curtains, but a quick look at the cellphone on his bedside table told him that sunrise wasn't really far. Still, he could see the stars were shining brightly in the sky, and he smiled to himself. One of the best things about their new house were the beautiful stars that were always so visible every clear night, and both the sunrise and the sunset were stunning.

He was fully awake now – he knew he wouldn't get to sleep easily, but considering the nightmares, he wasn't sure if he wanted to, anyway. He looked to the window, biting his lip, and then to his wheelchair next to his bed. If he didn't make any noise...

He sat up, and reached out for his wheelchair. After moving himself a bit, he managed to pull it closer and carefully began sliding himself to it. He needed to be extra careful – if he fell on the floor, not only would that make a loud noise and probably startle MK and Papyrus in the upper rooms, but he'd also need to call for their help, and that would be embarrassing.

Considering how his legs seemed to weight more in the moments right after he woke up, it was a miracle he managed to transfer his body swiftly to the wheelchair. But then, he had managed miracles before, hadn't he?

He turned around and silently opened his bedroom door, which was located in a small corridor on the first floor of the house, next to a bathroom. While MK and Papyrus' room were both upstairs, Frisk didn't want to make any noises to ensure they wouldn't wake up. They'd probably just worry, anyway.

The corridor lead to the living room, which admittedly didn't have much in the moment. The flat screen television combined with the sofa Papyrus had brought back from his home in Snowdin Town, topped with the walls painted in maroon gave the impression it was a miniature version of the skeleton's former house in the Underground. Frisk didn't mind – standing there felt comforting and familiar, which had become somewhat a necessity to him after his life had changed so much in the past few months. Plus, Papyrus was the one in charge of the house's decoration, and it was useless to discuss with him about it.

Almost every night, he, Papyrus and MK would sit in that sofa and watch TV together – a completely normal thing to do, but Frisk had never experienced a moment like that before. He never had his own TV in his own house, let alone other people to watch with before. Maybe only with his mother when he was little, but he couldn't remember that.

Papyrus was always amazed by the variety of human television broadcast (" _THERE ARE SO MANY COOL THINGS TO WATCH!_ "), while MK would complain every time they watched a terrible movie (" _Man, and I thought Mettaton's soap operas were bad!_ "). Lately, the reptilian monster had been insisting on them getting a videogame console, which only left Frisk baffled by how they would play it, although he decided not to comment anything on the matter.

The memories made him smile – he had been doing that a lot lately. Things were, indeed, changing for the better.

He headed to the front door, grabbed a key from the key holder and unlocked the door, opening it as silently as he could. The fresh summer breeze blew itself into the house, and Frisk closed his eyes for a brief moment, enjoying it. He liked the scent from the vegetation around and from the forest near the lake – though he was glad he would probably never have to sleep _in_ it again.

The house was on top of a small hill – and just up ahead, when the terrain flatted out again, there was the lake – a beautiful pine forest behind it. The stars' lights reflected on the water, giving it a mysterious shine. Frisk thought for a while, and decided to go there.

He rode the wheelchair down the hill – it wasn't difficult, as he had done that many times. Going back up was a bit more complicated, but not much, since the terrain wasn't that much inclined, either. It was still a bit of a nuisance when he returned home tired, though.

As he approached the lake, though, he could agree that was a small price to pay to live in that location – the lake was beautiful, specially at night, and the house on top of the hill gave a peaceful vibe to the place. The road that took them to the city was easily accessible, but far away enough so they wouldn't hear its buzz early in the morning.

When he got close enough to the lake, he stopped, looking to the water, and then to the forest behind it. Up close, it really added to the scene, though Frisk had never thought about exploring it before – he had his fair share of forests and wild places for a whole life, after all. Still, maybe one day he would do just that in the future – when the war stopped being such a recent memory.

That was, if he managed to actually get _anywhere_ without bodyguards. In fact, doing what he just did – going out of the house in the middle of night – was something everyone had told him _not_ to do. What if someone with ill intentions was waiting just around the corner? What if he was kidnapped? What if he was killed? What if..?

What if he could actually appreciate the beauty of the place he lived in, for once? He snorted a laugh, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The nightmares had become literally the only thing he could complain about – because in all other aspects, his life had improved so, so much.

He opened his eyes again as the breeze blew once more, making the still water of the lake move a little, making a low 'blub' noise. He gazed at it, contemplative. He used to be afraid of rivers, lakes, the sea and other places similar to it because of the traumatic experience of witnessing his mother's death. But ever since that strange vision he had when he was in coma, all those months before, he discovered he had, somehow, overcome it.

The nature of that vision he had with Toriel and his mother at the top of Mt. Ebott still mystified him, and he had not told anyone about it. Was it a creation from his shut-down brain? Was it real? Did he _really_ see Toriel and his mother? What would have happened if he chose to stay?

"You shouldn't be out here on your own, y'know."

Frisk grinned, and glanced a look to his side. MK had appeared there, and was looking to the lake as well.

"You're one to talk.", the human replied, looking back to the lake. "Nightmares?"

"Uh-huh.", the reptilian monster replied, sighing. "So much for therapy."

The human laughed humorlessly. Yeah, therapy... had never really been a friend of his either. It certainly didn't help his nightmares or the post traumatic stress disorder that made him feel he was suffocating in the middle of work from time to time. However, it could always get worse if he didn't go to the sessions, so he always booked some time in his schedule for them.

"It's been almost half a year, now.", commented MK, casually. "That the war ended. Some monsters are already living here on the surface, thanks to you. But those nightmares haven't got any better."

"It's a slow recovery.", Frisk said back, shrugging. "We've been through a lot, remember?"

MK trembled.

"Yeah... glad it's all over, and we're alright. Kinda."

Then, the two heard fast paced footsteps going down the hill, and turned around. Papyrus was coming towards them in his pajamas (which included a pink nightcap with a white, silly dog drawn on it) – not walking, but basically sprinting. Frisk and MK both glanced a look at each other, amused.

"WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_ HERE!?", the skeleton asked as he approached, throwing his arms comically in the air. "DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE LIKE THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! SPECIALLY IF YOU FORGET TO LOCK THE DOOR WHEN YOU DO SO! WHAT IF SOMEONE ENTERS!?"

MK made an expression of fake terror when Papyrus said that.

"Oh my god, you're right!", he said, his voice quivering in a mocking way. "Frisk, you should enter the house first when we return – you know, in case the mad axe-man has entered it. They're all after you now, apparently."

Frisk exploded in laughter, mainly due to the fact MK didn't change his expression. Papyrus, however, stomped on the ground.

"THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"

"Geez, Papyrus, _relax_!", said Frisk, making a gesture for the skeleton to approach. "Besides, it's not the middle of the night anymore – look, the sun is rising."

And indeed it was – although the pine forest blocked direct view from the sun, the sky's night blue was slowly giving place to a lighter tone.

Papyrus made a weird noise with his mouth that sounded like he was trying to say "IRRESPONSIBLE TEENAGERS", but joined the other two, standing at Frisk's other side. The trio gazed at the lake in silence, as the sky got brighter and brighter. Dawn was one of those weird, inspiring moments that made it so no words needed to be spoken. Papyrus, who had been grumpy with worry, couldn't maintain that mood for much longer, and Frisk felt them becoming lighthearted once more.

"WOWIE! THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAY IS ALWAYS SO BEAUTIFUL!"

That was something all the three of them could agree with – and watching the sunrise with good company just added to the experience. Frisk smiled – he was sure that would become one of those simple, fond memories he'd think back whenever he faced any hardships.

Because there would be hardships for them. The war was over, and each day that passed it became more of a thing from a history book rather than a real, present event. But the future... the future held so many uncertainties, so many new challenges, they couldn't even begin to imagine what was about to come.

And yet, Frisk knew in his heart all three of them would be alright, in the end.

They had each other – and that was all they needed.

* * *

End..?


	21. Epilogue: New Constellations

" _heya, pap._

 _knock kno_

 _it feels weird to write this, but if you're reading this letter that means i'm already dead. or maybe you've been poking around in my stuff_ _again_ _, but... nah, i have a feeling you'll only ever see this if i'm gone._

 _oh, and if you're not papyrus, you shouldn't read this. it's rude to read messages not addressed to you, right? right. hope that clears things up._

 _welp, now that we got that out of the way, we can start the real business._

 _so, pap, you might be wondering why i wrote this in the first place? i wish i could say it was because i was bored during my night shift and did this to pass time,_ _and that's true i'm writing this during my shift, heh_ _but the truth is... i'm afraid, pap. afraid that you might never know the truth. the truth about us, as a family, i mean._

 _you and i. we're not biological brothers._

 _do you remember anything about the_ _house_ _orphanage we lived in? i don't expect you to, since you had just turned three when i took you and ran away. and i did that for an incredibly selfish motive. you see, papyrus, a couple was going to adopt you. but since the first day you came into the orphanage, i helped to take care of you, play with you, calm you down when you cried. as time went on, i began to see you as my little brother._

 _you were my first friend._

 _but no matter what i've done, i can always picture you forgiving me, because... that's just the way you are. you understand people. you believe in them, and that's a quality few have. let's face it, though: your life would have been a lot easier if i hadn't done what i did._

 _remember all the long nights we spent on the streets – none of us being able to sleep because of hunger? remember when you couldn't get any money, and you felt guilty because you thought you weren't "helping" me? remember the times the owners of shops and markets would throw us out of their establishments, threatening to call the police?_ _still remember your worst fear then was that we would get separated, heh._

 _can you still forgive me after that?_

 _my wish is that you never have to read this, and i can tell all this to you in person before anything bad happens. but we're living in war, so i know the next day isn't a certainty._

 _and i'm a coward. i'm a coward because i can't find the strength to tell you this. not yet._

 _can you forgive me for that, too?_

 _but i don't want to keep talking about the past. i wanna talk about the future._

 _pap – when i'm gone, i want you to do what i would never have been able to if i were in your place: i want you to move on._

 _i know this won't be easy, 'cause you care a lot about me,_ _more than i deserve, tibia honest_ _. actually, you care about the well being of everyone who is dear to you. that's another quality few have._ _heh, who would've thought, for someone who was practically raised by me, you turned out pretty alright, didn't ya?_

 _but i know, deep inside, you'll be able to do it. frisk and mk – i'm sure they'll have a hard time, too. you three need to stick together. together, you're strong. together, you're safe._

 _pap... please, no matter what happens, promise me you will keep believing in yourself. promise me you'll keep believing in others. keep being yourself – the world needs the great papyrus more than anything, specially in these times we're in._

 _and know that, 'til the very end, you were my little brother. my family. biological or not._

 _welp, got a bit carried away with this letter. maybe i'm not that lazy, in the end. but i'm still not picking up that sock in our living room._

 _i guess this is goodbye, then._

 _love you, bro._

 _\- sans"_

* * *

 _Papyrus_

 _Three years later..._

The flashy orange backpack lay open on Papyrus' bed, piles of t-shirts, pants and socks around it. However, the skeleton wasn't looking at that – but at his closet, searching for something else. He hummed a funny, fast-paced tune while he was at it – a habit he had had for sometime now.

Oh, there it was! He picked the t-shirt up. He could take a lot of shirts in his trip, but he couldn't forget about _that_ one.

He turned around – a mechanical sound of the house's elevator filling the silence – and stopped, looking at all the clothes piled up on his bed, his open and empty backpack at the center. He couldn't take all his wardrobe to that trip – that would be unpractical.

But... he liked all those t-shirts _so much_. Besides, he'd probably not have many opportunities to wash them, and wearing dirty laundry grossed him out. He frowned, trying to think of a solution.

"So you're going today?", asked a familiar voice from his bedroom door.

The human stood by the room's entrance on his wheelchair, looking around insecurely, as if asking to come in. Papyrus let out a big smile.

"HUMAN!", he greeted. "GOT EARLY FROM WORK TODAY?"

The human gave a little smile and entered the bedroom.

"Yeah... actually I asked to come home earlier.", he replied. "Said I needed to study for my SATs."

Papyrus twisted the shirt he was holding absentmindedly.

"OH, DO YOU NEED HELP?"

The skeleton was always eager to help those who needed – of course, being as great as he was, he was always ready to share his vast knowledge about the subjects he mastered, like cooking, for example. The human, however, giggled and gave him a patient look.

"That wasn't why I asked to come home earlier, Papyrus.", he stated plainly. "I wanted to say goodbye before you headed out."

"OH.", said Papyrus, a bit embarrassed. "OF COURSE! I KNEW THAT!"

From the way the human's lips curled into a smile, it was clear they saw right through his lie, but the skeleton didn't mind. The human was pretty smart, after all.

"You don't seem to be ready, though..."

The human glanced a look to all the piles of clothes on Papyrus' bed, cocking his head a little to the side to see the backpack in the middle.

"Um... all these won't fit in that backpack.", he said, matter-of-factly. "You sure you don't wanna a suitcase instead?"

Papyrus shook his head, energetically.

"NO! I NEED SOMETHING MORE PRACTICAL THAN A SUITCASE TO CARRY MY THINGS! SPECIALLY CONSIDERING I'M GOING BY CAR AND... WELL, I HAVEN'T BOOKED A PLACE IN ANY HOTELS OR INNS ON THE WAY!"

The human's smile faded away ever so slightly, but Papyrus noticed it. They broke eye contact and stared at the open window – the afternoon sun still high on the sky while the summer breeze filled the room.

They wore a white button shirt – it's sleeves rolled up until their elbows. Their hair was long once again – but it was tidy and properly brushed, parted to the side. With a strange warmth in his soul, Papyrus noticed they looked like... an adult. For how long had they looked like an adult?

God, he was getting _old_.

"It's pretty far away.", the human said, finally, glancing a look to the skeleton. "The place where you want to go. You know that, right?"

"I DO!", Papyrus stated, firmly.

"Don't you prefer to... take a flight or something?"

The skeleton kept twirling the t-shirt he was holding without really paying attention to that. Sure, he had thought about booking a seat on those mechanical Tsunderplanes the humans had on the surface – they were so fast! But, when he really considered his options, he concluded going there by flying would kind of take the point of his trip away.

"NO, I'VE ALREADY MADE UP MY MIND!", he confirmed, confidently. "I'M GOING BY CAR! DON'T WORRY, HUMAN, I'LL BE FINE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

The human looked at Papyrus for a moment, then nodded, agreeing, his eyes setting on the t-shirt the skeleton had been holding for a while now.

"Are you taking that one?", he asked.

Papyrus held the shirt unfolded in front of him. The basketballs on the shoulders, the "Cool Dude" message written in neat letters... no one could deny that was one cool t-shirt.

"YEAH! I REALLY LIKE IT!", he said. "EVEN IF I DON'T USE IT THAT MUCH..."

Anyone could see that – even though the human had given him that shirt almost three years prior, it still looked as good as new. Heck, it even _smelled_ as good as new.

"In that case, do you wanna any help packing?", the human asked, smiling. "That way we can decide what you need and what you don't need to take."

Papyrus felt the smile almost automatically appearing on his face.

"WOULD YOU? THANK YOU, HUMAN!"

"Yeah, no problem!"

And so, they began packing. It was a slow process – they picked up a piece of clothing and decided if that would be packed for the trip or if it would stay. The human acted as a break to Papyrus – the skeleton was willing to take almost everything, while the human pointed out that he didn't need to take some particular pieces (" _You don't need to wear a scarf in the summer!_ "). It was a fun process – the human was good company.

Finally, they managed to choose a reasonable amount of clothes for Papyrus' trip – and the orange backpack wasn't exploding with things, as it would be if the skeleton was left to organize himself alone. Then, they began to run a checklist to make sure nothing important would be forgotten. The human checked the list Papyrus had made on the computer and read it out loud, while the skeleton made sure he had packed everything.

"Toothbrush?"

"CHECKED!"

"Toothpaste?"

"CHECKED!"

"Deodorant?"

"CHECKED!"

There was a sudden silence.

" _Why_ are you taking deodorant?", the human asked, looking back to Papyrus. "You don't... sweat."

"I LIKE THE SMELL!"

The human smiled in a way he only did when he was amused by an unusual answer – an expression Papyrus had learned to recognize.

"Your call.", he said, looking back to the computer and closing the checklist file. "Everything's ready. You're good to go!"

Papyrus felt his soul thudding excitedly inside him.

"REALLY? WOWIE!"

He checked his cell phone for time – it was four o'clock, meaning that if he was fast enough, he wouldn't even catch a glimpse of the traffic jams that would fill the nearest town's streets.

He closed the backpack and wore it, shaking his collarbone to adjust it. Ok, that seemed fine – he was ready.

The human kept looking at him, their smile turning bittersweet.

"You'll be careful, right?"

"OF COURSE, HUMAN!", replied Papyrus, giving a confident smile. "I'LL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!"

He bent down to give the human a hug, to which they gladly retributed.

"I'm sure you will."

They separated – Papyrus running a list of things he should remind the human of before he set off.

"THERE ARE SPAGHETTI LEFTOVERS ON THE FRIDGE FOR YOU AND MK!"

"Okay."

"IT WON'T LAST A WHOLE MONTH, BUT YOU KNOW HOW TO COOK SOME SIMPLE THINGS, DON'T YOU?"

"You know I do..."

"DO YOU KNOW HOW TO FRY AN EGG?"

"Yeah."

"PLEASE KEEP THE HOUSE CLEAN!"

"Will do."

"AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH!"

" _Okay, okay_! Are you finished, mom?", the human asked with an ironic smile.

Papyrus puts his hands on his hips, smiling back.

"JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU AND MK WON'T BLOW THE HOUSE UP WHILE I'M GONE!"

The human gave a hearty laugh.

"I'm pretty sure MK and I can handle ourselves just fine, thank you very much."

"VERY WELL! I'M GOING, THEN!"

He turned around and walked out of the room – but when he was at the door he turned his head back to see the human looking absentmindedly at the window, and felt his soul getting a bit heavy. He had been postponing that trip of his for a while now – primarily because part of him was afraid to do it, but also because he didn't want to leave the human and MK alone.

He was the oldest of the three, after all, and often felt it was _his_ responsibility to take care of the others. To be the adult of the family, in a matter of speaking. But looking at the human, he noticed that they had grown up, and that maybe he didn't need to be always around for them. He smiled, happy and sad at the same time.

They would be fine.

"Have a good trip, Papyrus."

The skeleton noticed the human was looking at him now, and he averted his eyes, snapping out of his thoughts.

He nodded, smiling, and set off.

* * *

 _Their very first house wasn't very big – two small bedrooms and perhaps an even smaller living room with a kitchen. But it was their own – and that was important. For the first time of their lives, they had a roof to live under. For the first time of his life, Papyrus had his own bedroom._

 _He wasn't used to it, though. He felt alone – and in the dark he also felt a bit scared. Those walls separating him from Sans felt strangely suffocating, and he always had trouble sleeping. To top it all, he also felt guilty because of it._

 _The skeleton shifted sides on his bed – his own bed – trying to fall asleep. He counted sheep – something that always seemed to work with the cartoon characters. It didn't work for him._

 _After what seemed to be hours, he finally gave up on it and got up from his bed. He was tired of... feeling tired, and not getting any sleep. And if his trouble was sleep, then... well, he knew just who could help him._

 _The master of sleeping, so to speak._

 _He opened the door and entered Sans' bedroom – their rooms were connected by the same door, a detail that proved their new home was indeed small, but in the end also meant they were never really far away from each other. Still..._

 _As he entered the other bedroom, he immediately noticed the sound of soft snoring his older brother made. His eye (sockets) were now used to the dark, and he could see Sans sleeping heavily on the mattress on the ground. They had explained that they couldn't afford two fully mounted beds yet, so for the moment Papyrus was the one sleeping on a real bed, while Sans would be fine with just an old mattress. At the time, Papyrus had protested against that, but Sans used his "older brother trump card" to put an end to the discussion. Papyrus was a kid, and kids needed the best sleep so they could grow healthy and happy._

 _The situation was ironic. Not that Papyrus really understood what irony was._

 _Not bothering with ceremonies, he lay himself down on the mattress, next to Sans. The older skeleton stopped snoring and moved a bit – the movement had awoken him, and he tilted his head, confused._

" _wha..?", he asked, lazily yawning._

" _IT'S ME, SANS.", announced Papyrus in his child-like, high-pitched voice._

 _Sans took a while to respond, as he was yawning._

" _oh, 'sup bro?"_

" _I CAN'T SLEEP..."_

 _And that was when the guilt hit him harder. He could sleep with no problem when they were on the streets (except when they couldn't get anything to eat, but thankfully that didn't happen often). Why was he having trouble now, when they finally had a roof to live under? When Sans had finally gotten a job, and things were starting to get better? Was he that ungrateful?_

 _A hiccup escaped from him, and Sans moved, noticing something was wrong._

" _hm? oh, c'mon, don't cry... what's gotten into you?", he said, his voice slow with sleepiness. he shifted sides to face Papyrus and raised an arm. "c'mere."_

 _Papyrus understood and approached his brother – and they wrapped their arm around him. The younger skeleton rest his head against his brother's collarbone – something still possible to do since Sans was still a bit taller than him (though he had the feeling they wouldn't get much taller than that)._

" _nightmare?", Sans whispered._

 _The younger skeleton shifted uncomfortably._

" _NO."_

" _what is it, then?"_

 _Before Papyrus knew it, he was spilling it all out._

" _I... I DON'T KNOW! I JUST... I THINK I FEEL ALONE AND SCARED IN MY ROOM, BECAUSE I-IT'S DARK AND I'M ALL ALONE AND I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THAT WHEN WE WERE IN THE STREETS! I THINK...", he swallowed, trying not to cry. "I THINK I PREFERRED TO BE IN THE STREETS AGAIN? BUT I DON'T WANT TO, THINGS ARE FINALLY LOOKING GOOD FOR US, AND I'M HAPPY AND YOU'RE HAPPY AND..."_

 _He couldn't complete the thought, and for a dreadful moment the room became too silent – he thought Sans was getting angry with him. But the older skeleton began making a weird noise – and only after a few seconds Papyrus noticed they were chuckling._

" _awwww, you miss me!", said the older skeleton, amused. "you're still my baby brother, after all!"_

" _I'M... I'M NOT!", replied Papyrus, though deep inside he was glad Sans wasn't mad._

 _He felt Sans' hug tightening a bit – as if reassuring everything was alright._

" _you don't want to live in the streets again, pap.", he stated. "it's just that... this is all new to us, and new can be scary sometimes."_

 _Papyrus looked up – although from his position he couldn't really see Sans' face._

" _REALLY?"_

" _really. listen, i'm glad you opened up. i don't want you to keep things hidden, okay? we're bros and you can count on me for everything."_

 _Papyrus gave a tiny smile – he felt his soul inside him warm and comforting._

" _OKAY! YOU CAN... YOU CAN COUNT ON ME TOO, SANS!"_

 _But Sans – master of sleeping he was – had already fallen asleep again._

* * *

Papyrus was still navigating through the town's streets with his red convertible car (his pride and joy), trying to figure out the best route to get to the highway, when he made a change of plans.

It had been a while since he'd visited _them_.

As soon as they got permission to live on the surface, they got in contact with the human and moved to the same town he did. The trio used to visit them often – but it had been months since the last visit. The human had been up to the neck with things to do – he'd been studying hard to enter a good college, and working harder since the foundation of the brand new "monster-human" embassy the previous year. Meanwhile, MK was busy finishing his last high school year. As for Papyrus himself... well, he had a job at a restaurant he took _very_ seriously. He needed to if he ever wanted to make it for chef position!

But it would surely be nice to give a little hello before heading out of town for good. Once neighbors, always neighbors – or something like that.

He parked in front of their apartment building, wondering if they would be home at that time. Well, he'd never know if he didn't check, so he walked to the building's entrance and pressed some numbers on the intercom by its side. It called once, twice – three, four times, and just as he thought nobody was home, someone answered it.

"Hello?", the voice was deep, but distinctively female.

"HELLO! BONNIE, IS THAT YOU? IT'S PAPYRUS!"

"Oh – hiya, Papyrus!", her voice sounded more cheerful. "It's been a while, right? But I'd recognize that voice anywhere – hold on a sec!"

The front door made a buzzing sound and opened.

"OPEN!", the skeleton informed, walking into the entrance hall of the building.

It was a small, neat room with a painting hanging on one wall behind the sofa at one side, and an elevator next to the beginning of a set of stairs at the other. Bonnie, Berna and Boone's apartment was located on the third floor – so Papyrus opted for using the stairs this time around, since the human wasn't there with him.

He reached his destination fairly quickly (he always skipped a step because going up a step at a time was just _so_ lame) – Bonnie was already by her apartment's door, wearing a casual blue blouse and black yoga pants. She smiled when she saw him.

"Hello, traveller.", she said. "May I offer a piece of pie that just came fresh from the oven? It's on the house."

"THAT WOULD BE GREAT! THANK YOU!"

They entered – the inside of the apartment was cozy looking, reminding Papyrus of Snowdin Town, in a way his own home did too. Maybe the snowy little village from the Underground would always stick with its residents, wherever they went.

Once they got into the kitchen – with its checkered floor and salmon pink walls, like a café taken straight from the 50s – Papyrus laid out the table while Bonnie picked the freshly-baked cinnamon-butterscotch pie from the oven. They both helped themselves with rather generous servings.

"So... it's been a while since you visited.", commented Berna, cutting a piece of her slice with a fork.

"I KNOW! MK'S BEEN BUSY WITH TESTS IN SCHOOL AND BOTH ME AND THE HUMAN HAVE BEEN WORKING A LOT LATELY!"

"Is Frisk doing alright? I mean – can't be easy for him to manage his work at the 'monster-human' embassy _and_ his studies to enter college..."

"OH, HE'S FINE! HE'S REALLY PUTTING HIS HEART INTO WHAT HE DOES! I'M SURE HIS HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF!"

"Does he have any idea what exactly he wants to study in college?"

Papyrus swallowed the piece of pie he had been chewing.

"YEAH! PUBLIC RELATIONS!"

Bonnie's eyes lit up in amusement.

"Well, can't say it doesn't sound fit for him..."

Papyrus nodded, smiling. Since they had told him they wanted to study public relations, the skeleton had been the best supporter he could be. Despite all the long nights and bureaucracy at the work, he could tell the human really loved what they did, and having a major on public relations would be very useful in their field.

"This new embassy is a step in the right direction.", stated Bonnie, twisting a piece of pie in her fork, not really paying attention to it. "There's quite a handful of monsters working there, now, too."

"WELL, OF COURSE!", said Papyrus, cheerfully. "IT'S CALLED ' _MONSTER_ -HUMAN' EMBASSY FOR A REASON!"

Bonnie smiled – Papyrus noticed she always seemed to rejuvenate when she did that.

"You're right... but hey, why aren't _you_ working with Frisk at the embassy, Papyrus?", she asked, curious. "I have to admit – the quantity of Temmies working there kind of worries me..."

"OH, _C'MON_! EVERYBODY SAYS THAT, BUT THE TEMMIES ARE _REALLY_ INTELLIGENT! THEY JUST... KIND OF CHOOSE TO BE GOOFY MOST OF THE TIME... BUT IN ANY CASE, THEY HAVE GAINED THE SYMPATHY OF MANY HUMANS!", said Papyrus, crossing his fork on his now empty plate. "BESIDES... DIPLOMACY IS NOT FOR ME!"

"Really? I always pictured you as a quite nice diplomat.", stated Bonnie, crossing her fork too. "But that's your life. How's it been in the restaurant?"

Papyrus straightened up – something he always did when he was about to tell someone about his latest achievements at work.

"I WAS ELECTED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH!"

"Oh, congratulations!", complimented Bonnie, her eyes widening. "That's so nice!"

"NYEH HEH HEH! MY COOKING HAS IMPROVED A LOT THESE PAST THREE YEARS! IT WAS ALREADY SPECTACULAR – BUT NOW? IT'S ALMOST OTHERWORLDLY, I ASSURE YOU!"

"Then you're the one who will cook us dinner the next time.", she said, her eyes sparkling. "Can't wait to taste the food from the Great Chef Papyrus."

The skeleton crossed his arms, smiling confidently.

"SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL TO ME!"

Bonnie then got up and took the plates to the sink. She returned with two cups of orange juice, and handed one to the skeleton. He gladly accepted it – the cinnamon-butterscotch pie, as delicious as it was, left him thirsty.

"WHAT ABOUT YOU THREE?", asked Papyrus. "WHERE'S BERNA AND BOONE?"

"We've been fine, I guess.", replied Bonnie, taking a sip from her cup. "Boone is at school working on a project and Berna is out doing some errands. We're thinking on opening a bakery on the neighborhood."

"WOWIE! THAT'S GREAT!"

"It is, isn't it? I think the neighborhood here really lacks a good bakery..."

She smiled, and they both kept in silence while they drank the juice.

"I feel... I feel things are getting better.", she said, looking to her empty glass. "When we arrived here, almost two years ago, people looked at us either with fear or despise. But now... just this last week a nice old lady said 'good morning' to Berna when they met at the elevator, and Boone finally made a friend in school.", she sighed, looking to the kitchen window. "Humans are slowly... _very_ slowly... starting to accept us. And for that, I'm thankful to Frisk. The boy has made the impossible... real, somehow."

Papyrus didn't reply anything – but he agreed wholeheartedly. In the beginning, both he and MK felt the angry and fearful stares on their backs every time they went to the mall or to a restaurant. People avoided looking them in the eye. But, as time went on, some began to notice that maybe – just maybe – monsters weren't necessarily bad or murderous. They began to understand. Sure, things were far from perfect and a lot of humans were still strongly against monster presence on the surface. The hate messages. The riots. But those too were, little by little, getting more and more insignificant on the bigger picture.

The skeleton could even safely say pretty much everyone at his work liked him.

"Very well, traveller...", said Bonnie, standing up to take the glasses to the sink as well. "May I ask you where you're traveling to?"

"OH!", exclaimed Papyrus, surprised. "HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS GOING ON A TRAVEL?"

Bonnie glanced a long look to Papyrus' backpack, which was on an empty chair next to the skeleton.

"Is wearing these huge backpacks a fashion statement now?", she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"OH, N-NO!", he stuttered, feeling his (face? skull?) getting hotter. "I AM GOING ON A TRAVEL! TO... TO MT. EBOTT."

Bonnie stopped in the midway of an act to putting the glasses on the sink, her smile fading from her expression. She looked to Papyrus for what felt like a long, long time.

"Back to the...", she began, insecure. "To the Underground?"

Papyrus shifted on his chair.

"NO...", he replied. "IT'S... NEARBY."

"I see..."

She lowered the glasses to the sink. Papyrus could feel the melancholy on the atmosphere of the room – and it wasn't hard to know why. The Underground had been the home of monsters for centuries and – as hard as things sometimes were – there _were_ fond memories to be found there, even if the past few years had signified the ruin of the place. In some years (ten years? fifty?), the Underground would be nothing more but an empty place left behind – a mere page on a history book.

"They... moved Undyne back in there recently, haven't they?"

Bonnie's tone of voice was a bit difficult to read – in fact, Papyrus learned she could conceal her real emotions really well if she wanted to (no wonder she and Sans got along). But there was sadness in it – he was sure. And the reason for that...

During the war, after the incident at the cabin in the woods, when two Royal Guard members raided the place... it was Undyne who appeared after Papyrus and his group left. The empress stopped the fight – and took the bunny family back to the Underground, the last safe place for monsters. In fact, she had been taking monsters who didn't want to fight back there. Bonnie, who had strongly opposed Undyne's ruling, was probably caught off guard with that. Despite everything she did... maybe she wasn't really a villain in that story.

"THEY DID.", the skeleton confirmed. "SHE WAS BEING KEPT SEPARATED, BUT NOW SHE'S GOING BACK TO THE UNDERGROUND, ALONG WITH THE OTHER MONSTERS THAT ARE STILL IN THERE. MAYBE... MAYBE ONE DAY SHE'LL COME TO THE SURFACE, TOO."

Papyrus was surprised with the pure, genuine hope in his voice – after everything he went through, after everything he had lost... he still had hope for Undyne.

He still believed.

Bonnie looked up at him again.

"Yeah. Maybe.", she said. "She was your friend, wasn't she?"

Papyrus shook his head with energy.

"NO, SHE _IS_ MY FRIEND!", he corrected, and just a second later he realized what he said. "I'M... SURE OF IT. DEEP INSIDE... SHE'S STILL MY FRIEND. AND ONE DAY... WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN."

He knew that day probably wouldn't be any time soon... but he knew it would come. And he would wait.

Because Papyrus wouldn't leave his friends behind.

The sun was setting – the twilight cast a dim, purple light into the kitchen. Whoa, time had really flown by while he was there! He stood up quickly, wearing his backpack back on.

"I HAVE TO GO, NOW!", he said, smiling again. "BEFORE IT GETS TOO LATE! THANKS FOR THE PIE, BONNIE!"

Bonnie, who had been looking so serious, let herself give a little smile.

"You know you're always welcome, Papyrus.", she said, approaching him. "I'll take you to the entrance."

They headed for the apartment's front door, and Bonnie held it open for him.

"Farewell, traveller.", she said, giving a little bow with her head. "Have a nice trip."

"WILL DO! TAKE CARE, BONNIE!"

Papyrus entered the corridor and was with a foot on the first set of stairs when Bonnie called him again.

"Papyrus?"

"YES?"

She hesitated for a moment, as if deciding if she should actually say what she was about to say.

"Why are you... going back to Ebott?"

Papyrus gave her a kind smile, and looked to the ground. His reason for wanting to go back was... very personal – something he kept on the deepest part of his soul. _Only_ Frisk and MK knew why he was making that trip.

"THERE'S... SOMEONE THERE I NEED TO VISIT. SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL."

Bonnie bit her lip, and nodded. No words needed to be spoken.

She understood.

* * *

The following days were filled with a typical summer heat as the sun shone bright over the whole country. That wasn't a problem to Papyrus – he didn't feel heat neither cold, which proved to be useful in a number of ways. He couldn't burn himself with fire in the kitchen during his work, and he could use the trendy winter clothes basically the whole year, if he wanted to. Still, there was something cool about just wearing simple t-shirts and jeans in the summer.

Sometimes, less meant more – at least, modern fashion worked that way, in Papyrus' opinion.

A week had passed since the skeleton set off on his not-so-little journey back to Ebott, and he was about halfway through. The sun was exactly above his head as he drove in the highway, and when his stomach ( _stomach_?) gave a weird growl, he noticed he was hungry and decided to stop for lunch at the first establishment he would come across.

Said establishment happened to be a rather regular-looking café named... "Café". That couldn't be good, but he was really hungry, and as he parked the car in front of the place, he came to the conclusion he really didn't mind.

That conclusion didn't last two seconds, for the moment Papyrus entered the café his eyes immediately set on a dark stain on the floor. Fighting his "cleaning maniac" personality trait with all his might, he decided to press on. He took a deep breath before averting his eyes from the stain and walking to the nearest empty table.

There were few people in the place – and the skeleton decided to pay no mind to any of them. He was aware of the stares though – the stares that always followed him wherever he went. Sometimes they was easy to stand, other times – and unfortunately, this was one of them – it was almost unbearable. He wasn't sure why.

A waitress approached his table – she wore a black apron, looked to be in her twenties, and her face had a pretty bad case of pimples.

"What you wanna?", she asked, blowing a pink bubble gum.

That was certainly not... _professional_ , for the lack of a better word – but her uninterested manner was almost comforting for Papyrus in the moment, specially since he felt everyone else in the room was with their eyes fixed on him, like he was a ticking time bomb.

"UH...", he began, glancing a look to the menu at the table. He hadn't checked it. "DO YOU HAVE... SPAGHETTI?"

The bubble gum bursted, and the waitress picked it back from her face with her tongue.

"We only have steak."

"OH, OK! STEAK IT IS, THEN!"

"Alright.", she said in a monotone voice, taking a note. "But we warn you our stove is kinda lame, and sometimes it burns the outside of the steak while the inside remains raw. But sometimes it turns out alright, I guess. You okay with that?"

No.

"YES I'M OKAY THANK YOU!", he replied in one breath.

The waitress walked away, and Papyrus looked down to the table. There was a yellow stain in there too, and it looked _days_ old. He averted his eyes, thinking that trip was being a test of limits for him, in a lot of ways.

He missed home. He missed MK and the human. The three of them had been almost inseparable for the past three years – and they had made so many good memories since then. Sometimes – only sometimes – it was almost like the scars created by the war didn't exist. Like it had all been just a bad dream.

But no, it was real. Sometimes, _too_ real. The nightmares got fewer and fewer as time passed, but he still had them occasionally. Sounds of gunshots. Sans' body crumbling, helpless, in front of him. And he always woke up gasping for air, feeling the adrenaline running high on him.

The skeleton found himself staring at his phone screen – opened in an instant messaging app, the contacts from the human and MK right on top. _God_ , he missed them. But he couldn't talk to them – not yet. If he did, he was afraid he would turn around and go back before he reached Mt. Ebott. And he needed to do that – for his own sake.

He blocked the phone screen once more.

" _Papyrus_? Is that you?", a female voice said next to his table.

The skeleton looked up, a bit surprised. The woman talking to him held a tiny human – a baby – and her smile got even bigger when she noticed it was, indeed, Papyrus the one she had met.

"It _is_ you! Of all the places we could've met!", she exclaimed. "You remember me?"

Papyrus awkwardly got up – yes, that voice and face weren't strange to him. That straight brown hair and those green eyes... he had seen them before, for sure.

"UM... CLAIRE?", he said, a bit unsure.

She nodded with energy.

"Yes, yes! I can't believe it, it's so nice to see you!", she said, making a movement with her arm to hold the baby in a better position.

Claire was part of a resistance group that had settled in a town near Ebott during the war – the same group that Papyrus joined during the brief time when he left MK and the human in a fit of anger. It had been one of the hardest times of his life, but it didn't take long for everyone on the group to grow fond of him – Claire included.

"IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU TOO, CLAIRE!", he commented, smiling naturally. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Claire rolled her eyes and looked back to a man who was by the cashier, probably paying for his meal.

"My husband thought it was a good idea to stop here for lunch.", she said, looking back to Papyrus. "Word of advice: don't order the steak."

"OH... OKAY!", the skeleton replied, a sinking feeling growing inside him.

"We're traveling to see my mother, so she can meet little Lucas here for the first time.", she inclined the baby for Papyrus to have a look. "Say hello to Papy, Lucas!", she said in a goofy voice.

Lucas seemed to be several months old, but still under a year or so. They fixed their eyes on the skeleton and their lips curled into a very tiny smile, and Papyrus cocked his head, amused.

"WOWIE! WHAT A TINY HUMAN!"

Claire gave a youthful, hearty laugh – and Lucas let out a cute vocalization with his cute, baby voice. Meanwhile, Claire's husband approached.

"Sorry 'bout the wait.", he said, looking at his wife and then at Papyrus. "And who's that?"

There was only the slightest hint of hostility on the man's voice, but by that time the skeleton was used to people directing themselves to him like that.

"Oh, right! Papyrus, this is Ethan, my husband.", she introduced. "Ethan – Papyrus the skeleton, as you can see. We met during the war.", she looked at Papyrus in a way someone would look after being reunited with a friend they had not seen in a long time. "Back then, he saved my life."

"AW, CLAIRE, YOU DON'T..."

"But I do! I don't know if I would be here if you hadn't joined our group back then...", she said. Lucas made another sound, and she began gently shaking him in her arms.

"Well, in that case, it's nice to meet you, Papyrus.", said Ethan, offering a handshake. The hostile tone diminished significantly, but it was still there (" _do anything funny and you're dead_.")

"Monsters are beginning to live in the surface now, right?", commented Claire. "Thanks to the 'Angel'. Still, we don't see that many roaming around yet."

Papyrus scratched the back of his skull.

"WE AREN'T _THAT_ MANY, TO BEGIN WITH!", he said. "WHEN I LEARNED THERE ARE SEVEN BILLION HUMANS ON EARTH, I KIND OF FREAKED OUT!"

"I just knew Papyrus would be allowed to live in the surface right away!", said Claire, looking to Ethan. "But what about you?", she directed to Papyrus. "What are you doing here?"

"I'M TRAVELING, TOO!", the skeleton replied. "I'M GOING TO THE TOWN NEAR MT. EBOTT, YOU KNOW? I'M... VISITING SOMEONE THERE."

Claire glanced a weird look at him for a moment – of course, Mt. Ebott hadn't been the most popular place to visit during the past few years, and Papyrus was being pretty vague with his motives. For a moment, he feared she would press on the matter.

"That's cool!", she simply said. "Well, we should be going now. Don't want to spoil your lunch now, do we?"

Ethan snorted a laugh.

"Yeah... the food here is actually fine, man.", said Ethan. "Just don't order the steak and you'll be okay."

"OH, I WOULDN'T _THINK_ OF IT!", said Papyrus, his voice cracking a bit. He coughed.

Both Claire and Ethan looked at each other and laughed.

"Good to see you, Papyrus!", Claire said as they both began walking towards the exit. She picked Lucas' tiny hand and motioned a goodbye wave with it. "Have a nice trip, Papy!", she said in that goofy voice again.

"Bye, Papyrus!", said Ethan.

And they were gone.

But Papyrus was left feeling a lot better, actually. Meeting Claire was a reminder that the war had been real – but it also reminded him how kind people could be. It reminded him how it was possible to be accepted in the surface – no matter how much of a slow process it was.

The waitress came with the steak immediately afterwards – but, for some reason, Papyrus didn't even notice how burnt it was.

* * *

" _SANS?"_

 _As Papyrus got into the kitchen, he caught sight of his brother sitting by the table, holding their head with their hands, a mug steaming with something hot next to them._

 _He gulped, holding the papers in his hands with force, to the point they almost screwed up. He didn't remember hearing Sans coming home the previous night._

 _The older skeleton raised his head a bit and looked to Papyrus, his pupils blinking, as if he was having difficult focalizing his younger brother._

" _oh...", he mumbled, his voice hoarse. "hey, pap. slept well?"_

 _There was a casual tone in his voice, like everything was alright, and Papyrus hated it. The younger skeleton looked down to him, feelings of anger, pity and sadness all storming inside. That situation had been going for far too long – and nothing was alright._

" _YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING.", he said, and it wasn't a question. "AGAIN."_

 _Sans moved in their chair, averting their eyes, and took the mug – Papyrus saw it was actually filled with hot water. He glanced a look to the kitchen counter and saw a closed pack of coffee. Apparently, Sans had forgotten to open it – but he didn't seem to mind as he actually took a sip from the water._

" _WHEN DID YOU GET HOME?"_

 _The older skeleton put the mug down._

" _dunno.", he said, in a monotone, bored voice. "an hour ago, i guess."_

" _WHAT!?"_

" _c'mon, pap, what's the surprise?", Sans sounded annoyed. "i've done this before, i'm 23, i can take care of myself."_

 _Papyrus clenched his fist – the one that wasn't holding the papers, feeling an unknown type of anger surging inside him._

" _YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO STOP!", he said, his voice quivering a little._

 _Sans gave an emotionless chuckle and took the mug up again._

" _that was before i became unemployed."_

"' _BECAME UNEMPLOYED'!?", the younger skeleton exclaimed. "IT WAS YOU WHO QUIT THE JOB!"_

 _Sans kept looking at him over the mug as he took another sip._

" _so what? in practical terms, it's the same thing.", he said, not taking the mug down._

 _Papyrus hit his clenched fist on the table and grabbed Sans' arm that held the mug with the other – the papers getting even more screwed up in the process – and forcefully pushed it down to the table again._

" _STOP DRINKING HOT WATER, THIS IS NOT NORMAL!", he yelled, his voice with a hysteric note. "GOD, SANS, THIS IS NOT NORMAL! WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU!?"_

 _But Sans' eye sockets had turned dark._

" _let. me. go."_

 _But the voice that came out from Sans was unlike anything Papyrus had heard – it wasn't that deep, goofy, familiar voice he had ever since his teen years, but cold and dangerous. Papyrus shivered – Sans had never directed himself in that way before – in fact, even when the younger skeleton misbehaved as a kid, Sans had never lost his temper, never raised his voice._

 _He let go; the older skeleton's eye sockets reappeared – and they looked devastated._

" _oh, damn, i'm sorry papyrus.", said Sans, putting his head in his hands again. "shouldn't have talked to you like that, bro, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry..."_

 _And they let out a hiccup, their shoulders shaking, leaving Papyrus utterly baffled – he had never seen his brother cry before. In a second, all the anger inside him seemed to melt, and he only felt sadness for Sans._

" _NO... I WAS THE ONE WHO YELLED AT YOU, I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE SORRY.", he said, sitting down on the chair next to Sans. "WHAT'S GOING ON, BROTHER? YOU'RE SCARING ME..."_

 _Sans stubbornly shook his head._

"' _m sorry... you can't help me, pap. if you could, i'd tell you, but you can't."_

 _Papyrus put his hand on Sans' shoulder in a supportive manner – a gesture his brother himself did many times when Papyrus was younger and had a bad day._

" _WHY DON'T YOU JUST... TRY, THEN?"_

 _Sans looked at Papyrus for what seemed to be a long, long moment, and then looked back at his mug without saying a word._

" _SO?"_

" _just forget about it."_

 _The younger skeleton took his hand away from his brother's shoulder, a bitter taste in his mouth. That was how Sans was – all fun and jokes until it wasn't. And then, they'd close themselves away, not letting anyone in to help them. Not even their family – not even Papyrus._

 _He sighed, resigned, and looked down to the screwed up papers he was still holding – and it was like someone had flicked a switch, a little light, inside his soul._

" _SANS, I'VE BEEN THINKING..."_

 _The older skeleton lazily turned his head to Papyrus, who in turn smoothed the papers out on the table._

" _WE SHOULD MOVE FROM THIS PLACE."_

 _Sans' mouth immediately curled into that characteristic smile he always wore when he heard a good joke, but his eyes still betrayed how he was really feeling._

" _move?", he said, slowly. "c'mon, papyrus, we can't move..."_

" _I THINK IT WOULD DO BOTH OF US GOOD."_

 _Sans didn't reply to that, and after some awkward seconds Papyrus coughed and leaned against the table, looking at one of the papers._

" _THERE'S THIS NICE LITTLE PLACE CALLED 'SNOWDIN TOWN'.", he pulled the paper a bit closer so Sans could read it. "IT HAS, UH, SNOW, AND A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD. THERE'S A HOUSE FOR SALE IN THERE, AND I THOUGHT, MAYBE... IT WOULD BE A NICE CHANGE FROM THIS TINY APARTMENT."_

 _Sans kept looking to the paper – a really cute ad for the house on sale at Snowdin, two floors, wooden made, that looked like something taken out directly from a Christmas tale._

" _that's really nice, pap.", he finally said. "really. but look at how much it costs! this is almost all our savings, and i'm unemployed, and we can't start spending money like that..."_

 _When he heard that, Papyrus couldn't help but smile – feeling his usual confidence and cheer coming back to him._

" _I'VE ALREADY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT!", he said, excited. "DO YOU REMEMBER MY FRIEND, UNDYNE?"_

 _Sans looked at him for a moment._

" _the fish girl?"_

 _Papyrus' eye socket twitched – he wondered what would be Undyne's reaction if someone called her "fish girl" in front of her._

" _YES, THE FISH GIRL.", he replied, quite dryly. "ANYWAY, YOU KNOW SHE'S THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD, RIGHT?"_

 _Sans nodded and Papyrus, with his hands trembling a bit, pulled the other two papers close – they were screwed up, but fortunately were still readable._

" _SHE GAVE US PERMISSION TO START WORKING WITH THE ROYAL GUARD RIGHT AWAY!", he said, a childlike wonder in his voice. "AS SENTRIES! OKAY, WE WON'T BE REALLY ROYAL GUARD MEMBERS YET, BUT WE CAN GET IN THERE IN THE FUTURE, IF WE WORK HARD!"_

 _Sans' pupils actually lit up and he looked to the papers – actually, application forms to start a sentry job – with doubled attention._

" _whoa...", he said, his voice genuinely surprised. "did you... did you get us jobs!?"_

" _YES! AND THE BEST PART IS THAT, IF WE WORK AS SENTRIES, WE CAN GET A VERY GENEROUS DISCOUNT WITH THE HOUSE! SO WHAT DO YOU SAY?"_

 _Sans put his hand on his forehead, as if having difficulty processing what he had been just told._

" _wait, wait...", he said, looking at Papyrus. "wouldn't you have to be at least eighteen to be allowed to work as a sentry?"_

 _The younger skeleton kept smiling, but inside he felt a bit hurt with that comment._

" _I... I AM EIGHTEEN.", he said, looking away. "MY BIRTHDAY WAS LAST WEEK."_

 _An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two, and Papyrus could almost hear Sans cursing himself in his mind._

" _shit.", he simply said._

" _SWEAR.", replied Papyrus in an automatic fashion._

" _i'm sorry, pap."_

" _APOLOGY ACCEPTED."_

" _and happy birthday."_

" _THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BROTHER."_

 _Sans had never forgotten Papyrus' birthday before – and that was something, considering he sometimes forgot even his own birthday. But Papyrus couldn't help but immediately forgive him when they looked at each other again – they really did love each other, even if their relationship had been full of complicated moments lately._

 _Sans smiled and looked to the papers again – he seemed to be filled with an energy Papyrus had not seen in him in a long, long time. The younger skeleton felt a lot better seeing his brother cheering up._

" _so... snowdin town people: you better brace yourselves, 'cause the skeleton bros are coming!"_

* * *

If MK and the human tried to avoid entering forests whenever they could, Papyrus had an entirely different vision on the matter. He liked forests – they had protected him during difficult times and were his shelter on a time he had been completely broken, both in mind and soul.

Still, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wander in that forest alone in the middle of the night. As he turned around, shining his flashlight behind him, he wished he had waited until morning to explore the woods near Mt. Ebott. It wasn't like they would get anywhere, right?

But he was just so close – he simply didn't resist the temptation of leaving the hostel he was staying in for the night to actually go there, against all recommendations (his own included). He even left his backpack there, and only took a handful of things in his pockets.

He couldn't see the city lights anymore, which meant he was really deep into the forest. He turned around again – the forest wasn't too closed and he could see the legendary Mt. Ebott if he looked over the tree tops. Well, he wasn't really far from where he wanted to go, so he decided to just press on.

He walked a bit further and stopped, pulling a pocket map from the region up and shining the flashlight beam over it, so he could read it. Hmmmm... the ground all around the mountain foot looked about the same – how was he supposed to find the place he was looking for?

He kept walking forward for some time (ten minutes? an hour?), until he suddenly stopped, a weird sensation growing inside him. He flashed the flashlight all around him, trying to recognize his surroundings. He approached a tree, touched its trunk, took a deep breath.

He was around the same spot he was when he reunited with MK and the human once again. More than three years had passed since. Whoa, had so much time really passed? He was _really_ getting old.

He remembered how overcast the sky was that day – and how it rained throughout all night, too. Tonight, however, things couldn't be more different – the weather was nice and the sky was clear, giving Papyrus perhaps the vision of the most starry night he had ever seen in his life. He smiled – maybe it was a sign. Maybe he was really meant to go find the place he had been looking for in that particular night.

He walked a bit further, and the trees got more sparse, the forest ground giving place to the hard mountain ground. He was at the foot of Mt. Ebott, but what would he do next?

Being next to that mountain made Papyrus feel weird – he became extremely aware that he was really close to the Underground. Maybe there were monsters passing by right beneath his feet, and they'd probably have no idea of that. If he decided to climb the mountain, it wouldn't take long for him to find human-made barriers, technology and special forces all guarding the Underground's entrance.

Luckily, the place he wanted to find wasn't anywhere up in the mountain – quite the contrary, it was by its foot.

He marched on, walking around the mountain, shining the flashlight over the stone walls. It wasn't hard terrain to walk over – he could understand how the human, still a child, managed to find the Underground all those years ago... how many years? _Ten_?

Geez, he needed to stop thinking about time. He felt _ancient_.

There, he found it – the cave he, MK and the human camped into in that same day they were reunited and shared their stories of what they had gone through. He stood by its entrance, a silly smile appearing on his expression. That day flipped his world upside down – that day when he learned about resets, timelines, and how Sans knew it all.

His hand automatically went for his pocket, grabbing a piece of paper he had been carrying with him during that whole trip – the letter. Every time he thought about Sans, he'd go for the letter – it made him feel a little closer to them and evoked good childhood memories he had. He and Sans sharing a meal. Sans comforting him after a tough day in school. Sure, his childhood hadn't been easy by any means, but he wouldn't trade those moments he had with his brother for nothing in the world. Nothing.

He turned around, shaking his head to snap out of his thoughts. He had found the cave – which meant he was close. Really close.

He walked back to where the forest ground began to mend with the mountain ground – there were some trees there. He looked at them, touched their trunks – they all seemed about the same. He decided to look at the ground instead, starting to feel afraid if he wouldn't find it, and that it would all have been for nothing.

That was when he found two bones – one of them broken, on the ground next to one of the trees.

He felt his soul leaping inside his body and he crouched down, putting his hand on the ground. Yes – it felt different from the ground around it.

Like it had been caved.

When the realization hit him, he froze in place, his hand still resting over the ground.

"HELLO, BROTHER.", he said with a faint quiver on his voice.

He let himself sit on the ground in front of that particular spot of soil and hugged his own legs, looking at the bones over there. He had summoned them in a cross formation to mark the place when they made that burying ceremony for Sans three years before. At the time, he didn't understand why he did that – it just felt appropriate, even if apparently it didn't stand the test of time.

Well, it was the intention that counted, right?

"I CAME TO VISIT.", he hesitantly continued. "WERE YOU FEELING LONELY HERE?"

He kept looking to the patch of soil – that particular spot where Sans' dust lay to rest underneath – almost as if expecting an answer. A fresh, pleasant breeze blew instead, making the foliage from the trees rustle softly.

The skeleton fumbled inside his pocket and took the special present he had brought to the occasion – a bottle of ketchup, Sans' favorite brand. He looked at it for a while, smiling with nostalgia. When they moved to Snowdin Town, Sans stopped drinking alcohol and switched to ketchup – surely, a healthier habit (maybe), but one Papyrus liked to pick on nonetheless.

"I BROUGHT THIS TO YOU!", he said, placing the ketchup bottle over the patch of soil, next to the bones. "THEY HAVE A LOT OF THIS HERE ON THE SURFACE! SEE, I WASN'T WRONG – HUMANS _DO_ DRINK A LOT OF KETCHUP! NYEH HEH HEH!"

He laughed, but his voice sounded different – it had a new layer of melancholy that wasn't there before. Or maybe it had always been there ever since the day his brother passed away, and he just hadn't noticed it. He looked down, pensive, before fumbling inside his pocket once again. When his hand came out, holding the letter – the last thing Sans had left him – it was trembling a bit.

"I GOT YOUR MESSAGE.", he said, looking to the envelope. "THE HUMAN GAVE IT TO ME AFTER THE WAR WAS OVER. HE FOUND IT ON YOUR STUFF – OH, AND DON'T WORRY, HE DIDN'T READ IT! HE'S... HE'S A GOOD BOY."

Then, he remembered how much time had passed since he had met the human for the first time.

"A GOOD _MAN_.", he corrected, hacking.

He tightened the grasp of the letter – in the dark, he couldn't see it, but he knew the words " _to papyrus_ " were written on the envelope. By now, he knew the whole letter by heart – even the parts Sans tried to poorly conceal or change – as he had read it many times over the past three years.

"SANS... WHEN I READ THIS LETTER, I KNEW I HAD TO COME BACK HERE.", he started. "TO TELL YOU... I FORGIVE YOU. FOR EVERYTHING. EVEN FOR THE THINGS YOU WERE TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS."

The wind blew again, and Papyrus hugged his legs more tightly.

"SO, WE'RE NOT BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS...", he kept going. "I'M NOT GOING TO LIE, SANS... I _DID_ HAVE MY SUSPICIONS, BUT I NEVER INQUIRED YOU ABOUT IT BECAUSE... WELL, I GUESS I WAS AFRAID TOO."

Now that Papyrus thought about it, he remembered he had never really asked Sans about their parents – or if they remembered anything about them. His brother would surely have been embarrassed if he did so – and they probably expected him to inquire about it one day... but that day never came. For Papyurs, it didn't feel necessary. For the longest time, he had Sans – he _only_ had Sans – and it had been just the two of them.

"BUT THAT'S STUPID, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S LIKE YOU SAID IT IN THE LETTER! BIOLOGICAL OR NOT, WE'RE BROTHERS! WE'RE FAMILY! WE'LL ALWAYS BE."

The skeleton glanced a look to the envelope before inclining and placing it next to the ketchup bottle and the bones. A little part of him felt sad for letting go of the letter, but he was mostly relieved for doing that. It felt like a natural thing to do – like putting the final mark at the end of a sentence.

"THE HUMAN AND MK ARE DOING JUST FINE. THEY'VE GROWN UP A LOT SINCE THE WAR.", he said, giving a small chuckle. "WE'RE... WE'RE HAPPY."

Or, to put it in better terms, they were _learning_ to be happy. They hadn't forgotten the nightmares – the ghost of a war that destroyed so many lives, living in their closets. But, day by day, that ghost seemed less like a horrifying beast and more like a natural part in them. A scar that they couldn't erase, but could live with.

"THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER."

And that was undoubtedly true.

He looked up without really thinking – he was facing the mountain, but he could see a good portion of the nightsky in his position, and the lights from the millions of stars above once again engulfed the skeleton in their wonder. A memory – a single, very happy memory – was brought back by his mind. He was thirteen or fourteen when Sans, who had just been assigned as the royal scientist's pupil, took him to that cave in Waterfall – the one with a thousand shiny stones that mimicked stars. Papyrus was amazed by it, and when Sans told him the real sky at the surface was bigger and the stars brighter, he actually thought they were just pulling his leg, like usual.

"THE STARS ARE BEAUTIFUL HERE, SANS.", he commented. "JUST LIKE YOU SAID."

And he felt a sting, right in his soul, because he wished, more than ever, that his brother could be there with him. But it was a good pain – because missing Sans didn't make him feel bad anymore. It gave him the reassuring feeling that he had loved them very, very much – fraternally and unconditionally – and that Sans knew it. They knew it. Papyrus was sure they did.

"I THINK..." he said, after a while. "I THINK THIS IS A NICE PLACE. YOU'RE NOT ALONE OUT HERE, AFTER ALL."

Maybe it was just Papyrus' imagination, but the stars seemed to flash a brighter light when he said that.

And somewhere – somewhere else, at that exact same time – Frisk and MK were home, watching one of those simple, stupid fun 80's comedy shows, and snarking at how bad the storylines were; Bonnie and Berna made plans for their new bakery while Boone played videogames on his new computer; Claire and Ethan sat on the living room with the former's mother, chatting and playing with the new member of the family, Lucas. And, just like Papyrus, a few more than a thousand monsters that were already living on the surface all looked to the beautiful night sky, all filled with determination and the assurance that better days were yet to come.

Because the future seemed just as bright as the stars in the sky above, and that night was the starriest one they had ever seen – in that timeline, or in any other.

 **THE END**

* * *

AN: After seven months of writing, it's done. The series is now complete.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who read everything – those of you who left reviews, followed and marked the story as favorite were the reason I kept going. So thank you.

If you want to keep updated on what I'm up to, consider following me on Tumblr: overratedjoe.

Until next time!


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